P"^ 



m 



Mr^7f 






E 183 

.7 

. 1134 '4«^ 

Copy 1 






'^mmw'^Mm 






foreigjy policy 



8f f II iilf ii-Sf MIS . 



CO 



im M io k ioaopr^lion cf FraDtlin Fifice 

Sl'ATr'-'TTOS or SPAIN. 



1^ OF THE ISLAND OF CUBA, &C.. &C. 

<> 



N E W-ORLKAIV^S: 
Prioteil hy J. L. SolUe, Ul rjwvtrr!^ shret. 









vM 




1854. 




fe^' 









Glass. 






Book. 



hJ 



i^^ 



THOUGHTS 

UPON THE 



l^ 



/ 



OE THE UMTED-STATES, 



FROM 1784 TO THE INAUGURATION 



OS 



^^: 



STATISTICS OF SPAIN, 

OF THE ISLAND OF CUBA, &C, 



BY 



S3> •m.^'S. 




i 



NEW-ORLEANS 



^unte^ Lj J. Si. S^offee, ^37 ^flattie^ .Ucet 



18i"54 



a'/ 2^ 



Entered ar;cording to act oi Congraas in tho year 1854 (May 10th) 
bj B. Mauiokt, in tho Office of tho Clerk of Uie District Court of the 
U. S. for the Eastern District of Louiisiaaa. 



m 



'^ 



To the Honorable the members of the d^eneral 
Assembly of Louisiana* 



^ IWEoie^een i>iCL55itucc6 natHnO/ ()e|itn>c^ me 06 a ccnin- 

^ f^uwle M>ttM.u6, J fvaue \yeen comlietle^ to cwanx^ti t^ 

hottttcat cateet UHtim nao lyeen to rtte KecatutUU/ altiactioa. 

^on^Lonea to a»t otpicej um^eie mvb (Uiheiy teauite mu. [rtc- 

^CHce^ J fvaue c^ootea a teu> n-oiti^ of leiditie to a ivot^ 

Mmim, J ItM-it, ii>iu/ at teo^t ^Keiv ma attacRm^ent to mu. 

itatiue Unw cv o^ouii>ianaj o4 luett a6 mu, ^ei>otto»t to tRe 
Imuied t7 tate^ op ^^mettca. u luiy woir, Uy ^e^teated to 

tae ^Weiai ^mDiyiyettvblw of oLpout^iowa. ^6 \JUaied. 

ttenlKcmerVj paootaUUi/ to accekt it, a* a Rum&le kfe^oe of 

mu/ liatuoti6m/<' 

BERNARD MARIGNY 






uuA\<-,^) 



i,.uy.> ■ Mir^ij6 .imiuwrt ^Si'J^Miijf. !>r) iirj.-.)j jrt ir 



iyJnU .ill ijifo^ 



Thoughts upon the results of the \var Avhieh terminated in 1748 
(peace of xVix la Cliapolle), after the battle of Fontenoy — also, upon the 
war of 1*754, closed by the treaty of the 10th of February 17G3, (peace 
of Fontahiblcau) — -Influence of those wars upon the destinies of the 
British colonies of North America — Thoughts upon the war waged 
against England by France and Spain, during the struggle of the former 
with her North American colonies, and which Avas terminated by the 
treaty of the 3d September 1784 (peace of Paris) — Recognition of the 
Independence of the United States of America, by the principal powers 
of Europe, and subsequently by all other powers — Foreign Policy of the 
United States — Statistics of Spain, her population, her armies, her navy 
and resources; character of the Sj^anish joeople — Statistics of the Island 
of Cuba; elements of her population; her harbours, army, and naval 
armament — Means that might bo employed to determine the sale of 
Cuba to the United Stattes by the Court of Madrid — Thoughts upon 
the charges directed against the United States, by the European powers, 
in relatioa to their territorial aggrandizements — Comparative statement 
of these aggrandizements with those of Russia, of England, and of 
France under the Republican and Imperial governments — Thoughts 
upon the doctrine of armed intervention as urged by turbulent spirits in 
the United States — Moral Influences depicted, and their eft'ects since 
1784 — Henry Clay in the Congress which adopted the compromise 
measures of 1851 — His health enfeebled, his last illness, his words to 
Kossuth, his death — The remains of Henry Clay are carried to Ken- 
tucky; his toomb I — Impressions produced on visitsing it. 

By Bernard' Marigny, born in New Orleans on the 25th October 1785, 
Aid-de-Camp to Laussat, French Commissioner, when that officer received 
possession of Louisiana from the Spanish authorities, on the 30th No- 
vember 1803, in order to transfer it to Claiborne and Wilkinson, ame- 
rican commissioners, on tiio 20th December of the same year ; volunteer 
aid to Genl. Wilkinson in the American army from 1804 to 1808; — 
Member of the Convention of 1812, which framed the 1st Constitution 
of Louisiana; — Chairman of the Committee of defence appointed by the 
House of Representatives when a British army invaded Louisiana in 
1814; — President of the Senate in 1822; — Member of the Convention of 
1845, which gave to Louisiana a new Constitution, estabhshing the prin- 
ciples of imiversal suffrage, and of taxation for purposes of Public Edu- 
cation, as well as greater equality in other respects. 



e^f^=^vj) 



PART FIRST. 



The consideration of the embarrassing circumstances that 
might, at some future day, befal the United States, and conse- 
quently my own native State of Louisiana, has alone induced 
me to publish tlvese pages^ which are the result of my study of 
the causes that have brought on the independence of the British 
Colonies now the United States of America, as well as of the 
tendencies of the foreign policy of our government, since the 
Peace of Paris in 1784. I have taken as my point of departure 
the battle of Fontenoy, lought and won by the French against 
the Anglo-Austrian army in 1745 — an event which determined 
England to prepare for the war of 1754. 

Before entering into the merits of this work, it must be re- 
membered that the English,, during the reign of Louis the 15tb 
lost in 1745ithe battle of Fontenoy. The victory of the French 
over the Anglo-Austriart arms, was followed by the peace of 
Aix la Chapelle in 1748, between Austria, England and 
France. 

Louis the 15th elated by his successes, imagined that he had 
secured a lasting peace. He allowed the springs of his go- 
vernment to be loosened, neglected his navy, and bestowed but 
little care upoii his vast possessions in North America, known, 
by the name of New-France or Canada. This Sovereign pos- 
sessed also in Northern America an. immense territory beyond 
Canada,, as well as the Isle RoyaI,.at the entrance of the gulf 
of St. Lawrence, and the boundless expanse of Louisiajia,, 

Whilst the King of France was wasting his life in luxury 
and voluptuous pleasures, England, meditating her vengean- 
ce, was increasing her navy, and making every necessary pre- 
paration for a dreadful war, which she could not wage against 
France, without encountering Spain also as a foe ; for Charles 
the 3rd, King of Spain, detested the English,, and he imagined 



— 8 — 

that his alliance with France would ruin the preponderance of 
England. 

In 1754j quite unexpectedly to France, hostilities broke out 
in Canada. A British force fell upon Jumonville de Villiers, 
whom they massacred together with a portion of the French 
detachment under his command. The war between England 
and France, (called the seven years Avar) continued for five 
years in Canada, and two years longer in other parts of the 
would. The Canadians, after a most gallant contest, were 
conquered by the numerical superiority of their enemies j fpr 
the English haying made themselves masters of. the seas, pre- 
cluded aU reinforcements in troops or arms from France to 
Canada. The death of the marquis de Montcalm, in the battle, 
of Abraham's plains, where Wolfe, the British Commander 
was also slain, occasioned the capitulation of Quebec in 1759. 
Montcalm should have awaited the reinforcements that could 
have been sent to his aid by General Levis, who was then in 
Montreal with three thousand men. But impelled by a chi- 
valrous valour, and remembering that in the preceding year, 
with 3,500 men, he had defeated, at Carillon, a British force 
of 12,000 veterans, Montcalm sought the battle, and fell in the 
first onset. In this action the Canadians used the jbaltlq, q,xe, 
in lieu of the sword. ::;'';) nl >•.•/. 

General de Levis, uniting the remains of Montcalm's 8i,rmy 
with hiiS own forces, determined to attempt the recapture of 
Quebec by storm ; he commanded about 7,000 men;— but 
the English, \vith a force of 15,000 men, had had time .a, ud 
means to fortify themselves, and the French failed in their at- 
tack. The two armies then resumed their respective positions. 
The English ventured not to attack the French — both await- 
ing with anxiety the fleet from the mother country which was 
to decide the contest. The English fleet was the first to appear, 
and the French authorities surrendered Canada (1760). 

Spain was not more fortunate than France ; she lost in the 
Mediterranean the island of Minorca, and port Mahon its cita- 
del. The English also captured Havana; these successes over 
their two formidable foes enabled them to dictate the terms of 
the Peace of Pontaineblcau, on the lOlh of February 1764- 



— 9 — 

By ibis treaty France, ceded to England 1st. Canada and all 
her possessions norlh of that province, as well as the Isle Royal; 
— 2d. beginning at the rivei' Perdido, four leagues from Pen- 
sacola, all that part of Louisiana, comprehending the bay of 
Mobile, and following the coast to the entrance of Bayou Man- 
cliacin lake INIaurepas; thence ascending this river to the Mis- 
sissippi; thence all the left bank of the Mississippi to its sources, 
fixing the middle of the stream as the limit between the two 
nations. Spain in order to obtain the retroncession of Havana, 
ceded to England the Floridas, from the Perdido to Georgia. 

England had reached the zenith of her glory — her ambition 
was gratified — she possessed North America. There remained 
to France only a portion of Louisiana, which was now at the 
mercy of the British arms. D'Abadie, the governor of that 
province at that time, caused the forts of Baton-Rouge, of Nat- 
chez and of Illinois to be delivered to the English, of whose 
arrogance that officer complained in his letter to the Court of 
Versailles. 

The Choctaw nation, the most numerous and the most 
powerful of the Indian tribes, had been the ally of the French, 
since the time when Iberville and others took possession of 
Louisiana in 1699. But this nation being settled on a part of 
the territory which had been transferred to England, it became 
impossible to France to secure the permanent possession of 
Louisiana ; she therefore ceded it to Spain by the act of 17^6. 

Spain, at that time powerful in the new hemisphere by her 
vast possessions in South America, had a considerable milita- 
ry establishment in Mexico, and a strong garison in the Island 
of Cuba. The Cabinet of Madrid accepted with some hesita- 
tion these vast possessions, whose maintenance increased by 
at least a half million of dollars the expenditures of the Spanish 
monarchy. But it accepted them only from the fear that they 
might fall, into the hands of England, and that the English 
would thence introduce their merchandize into the rich Spanish 
possessions of Mexico by the practises of smuggling, which 
offer such temptations to Mexicans. — This assuredly would 
have caused considerable injury to the manufactories of Spain. 
The left bank of the Mississippi therefore, from its head \va- 



— 10 — 

lerstothe river Marichac, remained to England, with its na- 
vigation in common with Si:)ain. The government of Madrid 
had then to support the expenditures of Louisiana — whilst 
England, under the pretense of purchasing the products of 
Spanish subjects, carried on Avith them a lucrative trade in con- 
traband commodities; for she could supply them with her mer- 
chandize at a much cheaper rate, than that which was de- 
manded for articles manufactured in Spain, and imported by 
Spaniards. 

The successes of England over France and Spain had in- 
creased her power; but to meet the exigencies of a seven 
years war, the British government had exhausted its finances. 
After some years ofrepose, as a means of increasing its reve- 
nues, it undertook to establish a system of taxation upon its 
North American colonies. It imagined that the terror of its 
late victories would command obedience to its exactions among 
the american colonists, and a heavy duty was ordered to be 
levied upon tea and stamped paper. 

The British government had formed a mistaken opinion 
of the people of these colonies — they were composed of the 
choicest elements. The persecution of protestantism in Eng- 
land had induced men of education to emigrate with their 
capital and energies to New England ; the catholics op- 
pressed in their turn, also sought refuge in these regions ; and 
the revocation of the edict of Nantes, decreed by Louis the 
14th in 1685, had occasioned the settlement of many lutherans 
and calvinists in the British colonies. 

Amid this population, schools and colleges had been estab- 
lished. It was in their aspirations for liberty, that these com- 
munities were destined to produce, not only soldiers, but the 
most distinguished chieftains, statesmen, and orators. The 
Americans first addressed their remonstrances to the mother- 
country, in regard to the course it was pursuing towards the 
colonies ; but their complaints however reasonable were dis- 
regarded. The British government ordered its troops to 
America, and raised further recruits among the Hessians 
and in other german States. The news of these menacing 
preparations having reached New England, discontent arose 



— 11 — 

into general indignation, and bloodshed soon followed. Then 
arose a citizen, who afterwards rendered himself immortal 
in the eyes of his countrymen and of all men Avho value li- 
berty — Thomas Jefferson presented to the congress assem- 
bled in Philadelphia the Declaration of Independence, which 
was adopted on the 4th of July 17761 — masterpiece of mo- 
rality and eloquence! destined to equal among the people of 
America, the effects of the Gospel among christians. The 
Americans felt themselves invincible; and George Washing- 
ton, a native of Virginia, Avhose name is immortal, was pro- 
claimed commander in chief of the American armies. Having 
been an officer in the service of England in America, he was 
destined to conquer those who had taught him the art of 
war. 

When the declaration of independance became known in 
France, the nobility and gentry declared themselves in favor 
of war against England. Lafeyette, a young nobleman, em- 
barked for America. He became there the apostle of liberty, 
and his letters increased the enthousiasm of the French. Un- 
der these circumstances, Franklin was deputed to Paris, 
where his talents and his simple and engaging manners made 
him w.elcome and agreeable in all classes of society. Se- 
duced by Franklin, Mr. de Vergennes, then prime minister j 
of Louis the 16th, persuaded that monarch to join in the war 
against England. The king of France himself was however 
disinclined to it : he said that it was immoral to sustain sub- 
jects who had revolted against their mother-country. 

In Spain, the ministry was inclined to disapprove the war ; 
but Charles the od pronounced himself in its favor. This 
monarch, who had commenced his career in the Neapolitan 
armies joined with those of Spain, to rescue a portion of Italy 
from the Austrians, was still influenced by a great hatred to 
the English. The count of Aranda, a head strong Arragonese, 
eloquent and sometimes arrogant, protested against the war 
proposed to be waged against England. He maintained that 
the establishment of a Republic in North America Avas cal-" 
culated to attract hither, all the discontented spirits in the mo- 
Jiarchies of old Europe. That a great nation would arise 



— 12 — 

•there, whose moral influeuce would become dangerous to the 
Spanish possessions in America. Charles the 3d whose j30wer 
was great in Europe as well as in America, laughed at 
what he termed the "panic terror" of the count d'Aranda. The 
count of Florida Blanca joined in the opinion of the king of 
Spain ; and so far from persuading France into neutrality, 
the cabinet of Madrid intimated to that of Versaillesj that 
Spain was disposed to unite her arms with those of France, 
to secure the independence of the United States of America. 
War was therefore commenced. Spain captured the island 
of Minorca, and the citadel of Mahon. Galvez marched to 
Manchac and Baton R-ouge in west Florida, and took pos- 
session of those territories. The British commander surren- 
dered to the Spaniards the fort of Natchez, whose command 
was then given to Don Carlos de Grandpre, one of the most 
distinguished men I have met with. Galvez then directed 
his march to Mobile, took possession of the old fort Conde, 
and from success to success, he . appeared before the fort of 
St. Michel, at Pensacola, which he took by storm. 

Less fortunate in this war than Spain, who had thus re- 
covered all that she had lost by the treaty of Foutainebleau 
in 1764, France made no attempt to recover Canada, which 
had been taken from her by the above named treaty. The 
count de Gras encountered at Cape St. Vincent the British 
fleet under the command of Admiral Rodney. An obstinate 
fight then occured, and the French fleet was defeated. The 
count de Gras who commanded the ship, "Ville de Paris," 
bearing 130 guns with 1,500 men, struck his flag at the last 
extremity, when there remained to him about lOO men only 
and wounded for the greatea^ part. The English did justice to 
this gallant officer — his carriage was drawn by the people in 
the streets of London. 

Amid these circumstances, a French fleet appeared on the 
American coast, which succeeded in landing General Rocham- 
beau with about 8,000 men, and blockaded the Chesapeake 
bay. General CornAvallis thought prudent to retire under the 
fortifications which he had raised at A^orktown, but being at- 



-^ 13 — 

tacked by the united French and American armies, he sur- 
rendered with about 7,000 men, after a .siege of eight days. 

This aftkir put an end to the war of American Indepen- 
dence; plenipotentiaries met in Paris in 1784. Spain, repre- 
sented by the count d'Aranda, retained Minorca, the Balea- 
res and other islands, and England conceded to her, besides, 
East and West Florida to the limits of Georgia. On the eve 
of signing the treaty, d'Aranda addressed the following letter 
to Charles the 3rd : 

"Sire, your Majesty doubtless remembers, that I was opposed 
to the Avar undertaken by Spain and France against England, 
to determine the question of the Independence of the British co- 
lonies, and to establish upon these territories a nation to be 
designated as the United States of America. I do not wish to 
be a prophet; but I much fear that before* a half century will 
have elapsed, there will remain to your Majesty, of all your 
vast possessions in America, only the islands of Cuba and 
Porto-Rico." 

Forty years had scarcely elapsed, when the prophecy of 
count d'Aranda was accomplished. The letter of count d'A- 
randa is in Madrid ; I have read a copy of it, in the hands of 
the marquis de Tallaru, French ambassador to Spain under 
Louis the 18th. 

The Independence of the United Slates had been recog- 
nized; but much remained to be done — the wounds occasioned 
by the war were to he healed ; agriculture was to be restored 
to the hands of men, who, after having been soldiers for 
nearly ten years, had contracted other habits of life — a debt 
was to be met, which, compared with its pecuniary resour- 
ces, Weighed heavily upon the nation. To accomplish this last 
difficult task, loans were to be negociated, and high interests 
to be paid — commercial relations abroad w ere also to be es- 
tablished, and treaties to be made ; — but the united abilities 
of a Washington, a Hamilton, a Jefterson, a Franklin, an 
Adams, and other great citizens, were equal to all these exi- 
gencies. 

It may be supposed that these stalesmen, being aware that 
the United States had succeeded to the rights of England in 



-. 14 — 

all hev North American possessions from Cunada to the Ohio 
and Mississiyjpi, should have demanded the settlement of their 
limits towards the Mississippi. But the time was not oppor- 
tune. It would have been impolitic to give umbrage to Spain 

a nation, at that period, powerful, governed by Charles the 

3d an able king, possessing a hundred shipsof war or frigates, 
one of the finest armies in the world, and nearly the whole of 
South America. The question of the South Western limits was 
therefore left in abeyance. 

The Republic of the United States was naturally destined 
to invite European emigration towards its favoured regions ; 
and this emigration became considerable. The better por- 
tion of the land in the Atlantic States, much of which, was of 
arid and inferior quality, had already been granted to indi- 
viduals. The Americans therefore and the new comers espe- 
cially, turned their views, to the crossing of the Alleghany 
mountains, to take possession of the lands yet occupied by 
the Indians, between the Ohio and the Alleghanies ; but a ter- 
rible war was there to be encountered against numerous 
savage tribes, already aware of the ambitious objects of the 
whites, who had driven them from the Atlantic coast. Some 
Yankees better advised, emigrated to the Cumberland Rivera- 
in the country of the Chickasaws. This tribe had always been 
friendly to the English, and many of them spoke the English 
lant'uage. The Yankees were received without difficulty ; they 
established there a farm, made a few barrels of flour, butter, 
hams, potatoes — and in 1785, at hap-hazard, they embarked 
their products upon a small flat-boat, floated down the Cum- 
berland, and descended the Mississippi, 

The inhabitants of the lower valley were quite amazed at 
beholding such a craft, go\erned by a huge oar, in the hands 
of two men. The Yankees at last reached New Orleans. 
The officers of the Custom House, after having affixed the 
seals as usual, to the doors of the flat-boat, conducted its own- 
ers to the Intendance office, there to receive their permit to 
discharge the cargo; — but the Intendant refused the permit. 
The population exhibited agitation and discontent at the re- 
fusal ; — the Intendant alleged that it was not advisable in the 



interest of the Spanish monarchy, to encourao-e establitsh- 
ments in the upper country, calculated to attract there a nu- 
merous population, who might at some faturc day invade low- 
er Louisiana, and snatch it from the Spaniards, Don Este- 
van Miro, then governor of that province, assuming the res- 
ponsibitity upon himself, acceded to the wishes of the Loui- 
sianians, and allowed the owners of the flat-boat to land their 
cargo. The inhabitants greeted with joy, this determination 
of the governor, for they rightly thought that these products ar- 
riving in large quantities, their prices avouM be reduced, es- 
pecially that of flour, lard, hams and ix)rc. So soon as it was 
known in the Atlantic States, that the western products were 
admitted in New Orleans, the emigration to the West became 
considerable ; for the Indians had been for the greater part ex- 
pelled from Kentucky. 

In 1792, this territory, numbering already more than fifty 
thousand souls, was erected into a Stale, whose laivs super- 
ceded the Lynch-law. During the same year, Francis Louis 
Hector, Baron de Carondelet, was appointed governor and in- 
tendant of Louisiana. This man of high ability, after cast- 
ing bis eyes upon the map of the Louisianas, and inquirino- 
into the progress oi population in the western country^ easily 
perceived that the Spanish possessions of Louisiana were ex- 
posed to be invaded at some future day by the enterprisino- 
people of that region. But it was too late to think of depri- 
ving a population which had already attained a hundred 
thousand souls, of the advantages of reaching a market for 
their products through the Mississippi, which was their only 
outlet ; for the Alleghanies could not be crossed in .wao-o-ons 
to carry these products to the ports of the United States. Ca- 
rondelet conceived that the only possible remedy, was the se- 
paration of the western territories from the Union. To at- 
tain this end, great inducements were to be offered to the in- 
habitants of that region. He communicated his schemes to 
two men of intelligence and influence in Kentucky, Generals 
James Wilkinson and Adair. These gentlemen, for the ad- 
vantage of their countrymen, appeared to lend him a willing- 
year, but were well determined to do nothing ; besides, it 



— 16 — 

was not in Uieir power to Induce tlie Americans ta renonnce 
their nationality, nor to determine them to a separation from 
a great Republic, in order to establish an inferior one, under 
the protectorate of Spain. The Baron de Carondelet was 
destined to be disappointed in his hopes ; but it is difficult 
for the most astute European to conceive the patriotism of. the 
Anglo-Saxon race. n^^iii. 

So soon as Wilkinson and Adair returned to Kentucky, 
the news was circulated that the introduction of goods would 
be freely permitted in New Orleans, and that religious tole- 
rance would be exercised. Emigration to the West then be- 
came immense ; merchants from Philadelphia came to settle 
in New Orleans — an American consul was even received 
there : which was not allowed at that period in the other Span- 
ish possessions. This consul was Mr. Hewling, who did not 
leave Louisiana 'til 1805. 

In 1776, Tennessee was erected into a State. The ques- 
tion was settled : Spanish Louisiana was in fact but an 
American province. The Spaniards bore all the burthens, 
all the expenses of government ; the Americans carried on all 
the trade. Out of two hundred vessels in the harbour of New 
Orleans, nine tenths were American; and under the plea of 
coming to purchase American products, their vessels intro- 
duced merchandize. 

Another circumstance occurred, to favor the citizens of the 
United States. Don Manuel Gayozo de Lemos Avas at that 
time governor at Natchez. Of high stature, and stoutly built 
this man spoke English, and was quite American in his man- 
ners. He was fond of horses, of good cheer and madeira. 
Carondelet having made known his intentions to Gayozo, 
his lieutenant, made considerable concessions of land to Ame- 
ricans in the Mississippi territory. Stephen Minor received 
there, from the Com-t of Spain, the appointment of major- 
commandant of the militia. The Anglo-Saxons planted cot- 
ton in Natchez, which was sold at that period at fifty cents 
per pound; for that was the only point on the Mississippi 
where it was gathered in any considerable quantity. In 
Pointe-Coupee and otlier places, cotlon was but little cultivar 



— 17 — 

ted, even in 1794. Tlie male slaves imported Irom Afrjca 
could be bouglit al that time for $250, and the females for 
$180 ; so that it was easy to make a large fortune in a short 
time. Major Minor, through his fortune and his rank in the 
Spanish army,^ acquired great influence among the American 
settlers. I was well acquainted with him. He married his 
daughter to one of my intimate friends, William Kenner, whose 
son, Duncan F. Kenner, was president of the Convention in 
1852, which framed a new Constitution for the State od' Loui- 
siana. 

The time had come for the United States to turn their at- 
tention to the settlement of their boundaries on the Mississip- 
pi. The main object had been accomplished : the inhabitants 
of the western country, formed a population sufficiently strong 
to- secure for themselves the navigation of the -Mississippi, and 
an emporium for their merchandize in New Orleans — in de- 
fault of which, they could have seized upon lower Louisiana, 
which had a population of only forty thousand souls, and two 
thousand regular soldiers, scattered over the whole terri- 
ritory. 

A fortunate circumstance for the Americans, had induced the 
Spanish government to seek to conciliate them. In 1794, 
whilst Spain was involved in a war with France, in conse- 
quence of the execution of Louis the 16th upon the revolu- 
tionary scaftbld, on the 2lst January 1793, the Committe of 
Public Safety, influenced by Robespierre, had commissioned 
as dmrge d^af aires to Washington, a young revolutionist by 
the name of Genet, whose brother had voted the death of 
Louis the 16th. This young man, who was ardent and talent- 
ed, had imagined that he might induce Washington to de- 
clare war against England, through a sentiment of gratitude 
for the aid which the British colonies had received from 
France, whilst they were engaged in their struggle for inde- 
pendence. Genet did not belong to Young America, but his 
allegiance was to Young- France. Washington, Adams, Ha^ 
milton and the other great men who where then at the helm 
of the United States, were prudent, wise, and already of ma- 
ture age — they were such men as woiild be now called o/d 

3 



_ 18 — 

fog'g'ies. The propositions of Genet were declined. He was 
made to understand tliat the United States contracted no of- 
fensive or defensive alliances Avith foreign governments. That 
their policy was neutrality in the Avars of other nations Avhom 
they respected, and from whom they knew how to secure the 
respect due to themselves ; that they warred only for the rights 
of their commerce and agriculture, unless in cases of insult, 
or aggression against their nationality or honor. Genet un- 
derstood with difficulty these principles of wisdom and mo- 
rality, which are the true causes of our increase, of our wealth, 
and of the respect which all nations have observed towards 
our government, always faithful, in the accomplishment of its 
treaties, as it has been regardful of the rights of other na- 
tions. 

Genet perceiving that he could not influence the cabinet of 
Washington, conceived the project of fomenting insurrection 
in Spanish Louisiana. He became acquainted with a creole, 
Auguste de la Chaise, who had been a colonel in the Repub- 
lican armies. This creole who belonged to one of the luost 
influential families of Louisiana, was reputed for his courage 
and fine personal appearance. They both repaired to Charles- 
ton, where they met with many French privateers, who had 
brought hither the prizes captured from the English, then at 
war with France. Bold and enterprizing, these two men 
soon obtained adherents among the Americans of the Caro- 
linas. They also despatched emissaries to the West. Advised 
betimes of these machinations, the Baron de Carondelet pro- 
claimed that all men were called upon to take up arms in Loui- 
siana. He caused the militia to be organized by Philippe 
de Marigny de Mandeville ; Joseph de Pontalba Avas ordered 
to call out those of Lafourche, Iberville and des Allemands. 
Bat Washington, true to the noble maxims he had pro- 
claimed, caused Genet and de la Chaise to be informed, that 
if they did not immediately disarm, the American navy would 
blockade Charleston, and the troops Avould be ordered to dis- 
perse tiieir armaments Genet submitted, and left the United 
Slates. The honest course of the American government was 
duly ajiprcciated by that of Louisiana and of Spain, and Avas 



— 19 — 

calculated to strengthen the bonds of amity between the two 
nations. 

Had Washington been a man capable of approving or 
adopting unfair means of attaining an end, lie would have 
allowed Genet and de la Chaise to pursue their course, for 
these men had not the pecuniary resources, necessary to the 
maintenance of a Republic in Louisiana — a province which 
had no revenues, and could not create any ; for its lands were 
almost Avithout value, the culture of the sugar cane was 
yet unknown there, and but little cotton was raised. Hence- 
forward, the annexation of Louisiana to the United States be- 
came certain ; but such calculations could not enter into the 
mind of the greatest citizen of modern times. The immortal 
Washington must be regarded as a new Messiah, preaching 
the rights of man, morality and honesty. 

Washington retired from the presidency of the United States 
in 1796 : he might have been elected a third time, but he de- 
sired to establish the principle, that no citizen should occupy 
the presidential chair for more than eight years. His exam- 
ple has always been respected by his successors in office. 

John Adams was then elected president of the United States. 
It devolved upon him to discuss the question of boundaries 
towards the Mississippi. The Americans could claim with 
justice, all that had been ceded by France to England in 1764, 
to wit: the left bank of the Mississippi to its headwaters, 
from the river Manchac — w^ith the exception however of what 
had been conquered by Galvez, that is to say Baton Roage, 
as far as the line of the 31st degree of latitude, a few leagues 
from Bayou Sarah — for this line had been determined by 
Thomas Pinkney, United States envoy, and by the Prince of 
Peace representing Spain, in the treaty of 1796. The Baron 
de Carondeiet, who had still indulged in the hopes of a separa- 
tion of the Western States from the Union, — who had corres- 
ponded with the cabinet of Madrid in regard to this great pro- 
ject, was much surprized and disappointed at the claim of the 
American government. He immediately despatched an Irish 
officer in the service of Spain, by the name of Thomas Power, 
to Generals Wilkinson and Adair, in the hope that they might 



— 20 — 

realize their Ibrmer promises to him. But these two skilful 
lucu had attained the only ends they had in view : the wes- 
tern country already contained a numerous population. They 
made known to Baron de Carondelet that nothing of what he 
had proposed could be undertaken ; that it was impossible. 
General Wilkinson after having caused Tomas Power to be 
arrested, also informed Carondelet, that he was prepared to 
march to Lower Louisiana Avith ten thousand men, and to cap- 
ture it. The Baron clearly saw that he had been out-w itted, 
and that he had mistaken the character of the Anglo-Saxon 
race. He asked to be recalled from his government in Loui- 
siana. The court of Madrid was astonished at this result. 
The Spanish government did not prove itself grateful for the ser- 
vices which that governor had rendered to Louisiana, by his 
wise and wholesome administration. From the grade of 
camp marshal in the armies of the king, Baron Carondelet 
was appointed president of the audience of Quito. This po- 
sition was beneath his talents and the rewards that he de- 
served. 

There was no longer any cause for hesitation ; the bounda- 
ry lines had to be drawn between the United States and the 
Spanish possessions. Colonel Elliot appeared with a re- 
spectable force before the fort of Natchez ; the Americans 
settled in that district, declared to Don Manuel Gayozo -de 
Lemos, that resistance was vain. Besides, the treaty of 1764 
between England and France justified the claim of the United 
States to the territories which had been ceded to the first 
named power ; the United States had succeeded to the rights 
of England. The boundary line was therefore fixed. It start- 
ed from the Mississippi, on the 31st degree of north latitude 
near Bayou Sarah, and following that line within about fifteen 
leagues from Mobile, it reached fort Tombigbee, since called 
fort Strander, and thence passed at a distance of about four- 
teen leagues from Pensacola. 

There remained to Spain, in that direction, but the arid 
shores of Florida, where the many good harbours to be found, 
were destined soon to fall into the hands of the American 
Union, without any deviation however on l!ie part of the 



— 21 — - 

government of Washington, I'roia its principles of moderation 
and justice. 

Don Manuel Gayozo de Lemos was appointed governor 
of Louisiana in the beginning of 1798. At the same period, 
Don Carlos de Grandpre was also commissioned as governor 
of Baton Rouge and its dependencies as far as Pearl river. 
The court of Spain having become convinced that Louisiana 
could not be preserved to Spain in the condition of a colony, 
resolved to transform it into an independent kingdom, as is 
reported by the Prince of Peace in his memoirs. Troops were 
to be sent there ; the military establishment in Mexico offered, 
in case of need, facilities for reinforcements ; and q.\\ infante, 
son of Charles the 4th, was to be crowned, under the title' of 
"King of Louisiana." But as Spain happened to be at the 
time at war Avith England, the cabinet of Madrid were de- 
terred by the danger of expoj'ing an infanle to be captured. 
Other means were subsequently devised to establish a barrier 
between the L^nited States and the rich possessions of the 
Spanish crown in the New and Old Mexico — these were to 
transfer those vast regions to the French, who had long envied 
them ; for at the time of the treaty of Baden in 1795, the Exe- 
cvitive Directory of France had despached hither Barthelemy, 
to negociate peace with Spain. 

The French government of that time, as well as those that 
had preceded it, were aware that Spain was their natural ally, 
and that by her harbours, her navy, and a renewal of the 
maratime treaty of alliance of 1761, she could, if combined 
with France, check the preponderance of the British navy. 
Barlhelemy, who was a statesman and an honest man, exacted 
nothing from Spain, and in Europe, the fraction of territory 
which had been conquered in the peninsula by the French 
armies, was relinquished. Nor did France demand any pe- 
cuniary indemnity, but she proposed the retrocession to her 
of Louisiana, which had been ceded to Spain in 1766. 

The cabinet of Madrid declined acceding to the proposi- 
tions of the French government, (see Memoirs of the Prince of 
Peace) but the progress of the Anglo-Saxon race in the West 
of the United States was not yet fully foreseen. Spain offered 



— 22 — 

as indemnity for the war, the Spanish portion of St. Domingo, 
which had already lost its value, for the French portion of that 
island was in open insurrection ; and many of the whiles had 
been massacred by the blacks. A priest, the abbe Gregoire, 
had exclaimed in the national assembly : "Let the colonies 
perish, rather than a principle." Paul Verrel and Santonax 
were then sent to St. Domingo, where they proclaimed the 
freedom of the blacks. Nine hundred sugar plantations were 
set on fire in the plains of the Cape, and in the midst of these 
conflagrations, arose, amongst others, Toussaint Louverture, 
proclaiming himself as the messenger of Christ, destined to 
avenge his countrymen. This negro performed in that island 
a part truly extraordinary both as a general and administra- 
tor, until 1802, when General Leclerc arrived there, with or- 
ders to re-establish slavery. Toussaint would not obey, and 
hence, followed war and murders. 

The evacuation of the island by the French army, took 
place in 1804; out of forty thousand men, six thousand only 
returned to France. To the ravages of war however, must 
be added the still greater destruction occasioned by yellow fe- 
ver in this army. The Spanish portion of St. Domingo, which 
had been ceded to France by the treaty of Baden, was there- 
fore of no value, as time has sufficiently shown. But the Di- 
rectory of France accepted it, in the hopes of obtaining the 
maritime alliance of Spain, which was accordingly effected 
in 1796. 

The cabinet of Madrid, clearly perceiving the difficulties 
resulting from a state of war in the establishment of a mon- 
archy in Louisiana, turned its policy towards the transfer of 
these vast regions to France at a proper time, with the expec- 
tation that they would be held by that power, and would thus 
form an insurmountable barrier between the Anglo-Saxons of 
America and the Spanish possessions of Mexico. In 1800, 
this opportunity presented itself France asked of Spain the 
cession of Louisiana, and proposed to her, in exchange, Tus- 
cany, which was to have been united to the duchy of Parma. 
The duke of Parma himself was to have married an infante 
daughter of Charles the 4th, and the kingdom of Etruria was 



— 23 — 

to have been re-established in his favor. The cabinet of Ma- 
drid fearing that England might send an expedition against 
Louisiana, required that this arrangement should be kept se- 
cret. The Spanish cabinet, jealous and fearful of the encroach- 
ments of the Americans, required further, that it should be 
stipulated by secret articles, that France should never transfer 
Louisiana to any other power, and that in case at any future 
time, she did not desire to hold it, it was to be retroceded to 
Spain. Napoleon consented ; the details of this treaty are 
set forth in the Memoirs of the Prince of Peace, as Avell as in 
the book of Barbe Marbois upon Louisiana, and its cession 
to the United States in 1803. 

In 1802, at the time of the peace of Amiens, Napoleon, de- 
sirous of being well informed as to the value of Louisiana to 
France, appointed a commission to repair hither, and to ex- 
plore and examine it. They reported that a colonial system 
could not be established there — that the Western Americans 
having the enjoyment of the navigation of the Mississippi, it 
was impossible to deny them a place of deposit, either at 
New Orleans, or at some point nearer to the gulf of Mexico, 
and that this population progressing with giant strides, would 
before many years take possession of the whole of Louisiana; 
Avhere France Avould have wasted her expenditures in estab- 
lishments and fortifications. Napoleon being aware that a 
Louisianian of high intelligence, Joseph Delfau de Pontalba, 
was at the time residing in Paris, thought proper also to con- 
sult him, as to the advantages and resources that Louisiana 
might offer to France. Pontalba, who had been a lieutenant, 
colonel in the service of Spain in Louisiana, was well inform- 
ed as to the progress of the Western States ; he fully demonstra- 
ted in a precise and detailed memoir which I have seen, that 
the report in regard to this colony, made by the commissioners 
who had been sent there by Napoleon, was wise and conclu- 
sive beyond a doubt. The result of these inquiries had dis- 
posed the mind of the 1st. Consul towards the sale of Louisia- 
na to the United Slated, and there only remained to be brought 
about the propositions to that effect. Already, in the year 1801, 
a great excitement had been created in the West of the United 



— 24 — 

States, although it was as yet unknown that those regions had 
been ceded to France. 

The Intendant of liouisiana announced that the term during 
which the inhabitants of the West had been allowed the privi- 
lege of a deposit for their products in New Orleans, was about 
to expire. The Legislature of Kentucky thereupon convened, 
and declared that if the government of the United States did not 
choose to protect the Western people, the Kentuckians would 
lake up arms themselves, and march to Lower Louisiana, forci- 
bly to take possession of it. The Legislature of Tennessee made 
declarations to the same effect, as also the Grand Jury of the 
Mississippi territory. The Intendant withdrew his decree ; 
but as he might at any moment renew it,, the people of the 
West were not quieted; the future appeared to them dark and 
uncertain. 

On the 17lh March 1S02, the peace of Amiens having been 
signed by England, France and Spain, the treaty of St. Ilde- 
foiiso, by wliicli Louisiana had been ceded to France, became 
public. It was a matter of astonishment in Europe, that the 
French government did not now prepare any military expe- 
dition for Louisiana — they who in lb02 had sent an army 
of forty thousjand men to Saint Domingo under general Le- 
clerc. 

Napoleon only made some insignificant demonstrations in 
order to induce the United States to enter into negociations 
relative to Louisiana. The government of the colony was 
first proposed to general Bernadotte ; but he was purposely 
denied what he thought necessary there, to maintain his au- 
thority. But the United States making no overtures, Laus- 
sat was sent to Louisiana in 1803, with the title of prefect. 
He was accompanied by adjutant Burlhe, and by lieutenant 
Dominique Burthe, his brother, by colonel Vinache, of the en- 
gineers, and by captain Castille, of the artillery who brought 
with him six field pieces. Laussat was a bearer of a letter 
to me from my relative de Pontaiba, whom I have already 
mentioned; he invited me to lender the use of my house to 
Laussat and to his wife, a woman of remarkable beauty and 
wit. Madam Ijanssat was accompanied by lier two daugh- 



— 25 — 

lers aged fourteen and twelve. D'Augereau was the secre- 
tary of the prefect. As ray house was large, I had reserved 
for myself two apartments : Laussat had tendered me a seat 
at his table and the entrance of his saloons ; I was therefore 
one of his intimate society ; and I have often heard him ex- 
claim : "The French troops arrive not." It was known that 
after the refusal of Bernadotte, general Victor had been ap- 
pointed to the government of Louisiana, and no preparations 
were made either for the departure of that officer or of any 
military force. 

Chancellor Livingston, then United States minister in Paris,- 
was rather a man of learning than a diplomate ; he had paid 
thus far but little attention to the question of the navigation 
of the Mississippi. Under these circumstances, two mer- 
chants from New Orleans arrived in Paris, they were James 
Pitot, a man of learning and judgment, who was subsequent- 
ly for many yeai-s mayor of New Orleans, and Daniel Clarke, 
an Irishman by birth, of an active and restless spirit, who was 
reputed at the time as the largest land-holder in Louisiana. 
In consequence of the representations of these two citizens 
to the American minister, of the grievances of the people of 
the Western part of the United States, Livingston addressed 
a letter to the minister of foreign affairs, Talleyrand de Peri- 
gord, in order to ascertain the intentions of the French go- 
vernment as to the navigation of the Mississippi, and the 
mart which was indispensable in Louisiana, for the products 
of the Western country. Talleyrand expressed, in his answer 
to the American minister, the desire that the existing har- 
mony between the two nations should not be interrupted ; but 
he promised nothing positively. Livingston, although with- 
out any authority from his government, thereupon thought 
proper to enter into negociations with the French cabinet in 
relation to Louisiana. He offered a sum of three millions of 
dollars for the Isle ol Orleans, from the head of the river Man- 
chac to lake Maurepas, then following a line in the middle of 
said lake, and of lake Pontchartrain, through the middle of 
the Rigolets,and turning around the coast of the Mexican 
Gulf to the Mississippi, and thence continuing up said river 

4 



— i^6 — 

to the point of departure. The answer of Talleyrand to this 
proposition was less evasive, --'i---""^- ••. ■ ■ 

In Louisiana, the people werc'uneaby as to the'new govern- 
ment about to be established in the country. The former 
French administration had left unpleasant reminiscences, and 
the mild and paternal government which Spain had estab- 
lished there had given general satisfaction; for Avith the ex- 
ception of the Governor, the Intendant and the Chief Judge, 
nine tenths of the employees, both in the civil and military ser- 
vice, in New Orleans, as well as in the country, were natives 
o[ Louisiana. In the West, excitement had reached its high- 
est point, and nothing less than the invasion and conquest of 
Louisiana, to prevent the French from taking possession of it, 
was talked of. — ^Thomas Jefferson advised his fellow-citizens 
to be patient, and to await the result of the great transaction 
he was meditating, in a mi«d as comprehensive, as his -pa 
triotism was great. Being informed that Livingston had met 
with but little success, he addressed to James Monroe a press- 
ing letter : "He urged upon him to depart without delay for 
France, giving him unlimited powers on account of the great 
distance, and setting forth the eminent services he might ren- 
der his country." Devoted to the interests of his country, 
Monroe immediately departed "on his mission; but the season 
being unfavorable, he did not reach Paris until April, after a 
long and tedious voyage. Napoleon awaited him with impa- 
tience. Barbe Marbois, th-en minister of the treasury, was 
entrusted on the part of France with the negociations "which 
were about to be opened in relation to the navigation of the 
Mississippi. At the first interview between the Representa- 
tives of the two countries, Livingston and Monroe were sur- 
prised at the propositions of Barb6 Marbois : '^'you desire," said 
he, "the navigation of the Mississippi and a mart at New Or 
leans ; Avell I we will sell you the whole of Louisiana, with its 
p^rimitive boundaries, such as France first possessed it ; that 
is to say, we will sell it as we received it from Spain by the 
treaty of St. lldefonso in the year 1800." The price was soon 
agreed upon, and was fixed at 80 millions of francs, of which 
twenty millions Avere to be retained by the government of the 



— 27 — 

United States, as an indemnity to those of its citizens, who 
had suffered losses from seizures of their goods or vessels, 
made at different periods by French ships. 

An obstacle presented itself to the execution of this treaty, 
which might have been considered difficult to overcome ; but 
Napoleon, on this occasion, disregarded the obligations es- 
tablished by the law of nations. By a secret treaty, bearing 
the same date with that of St. Ildefonso, it had been stipulated 
that France should not transfer Louisiana to any other nation, 
and that if it so happened that she could not or woi^ld not 
keep it, she should retrocede it to Spain. This precaution on 
the part of Spain is an evidence that already at that period, 
the cabinet of Madrid were fearful of the encroachments of the 
4.nglo-Saxon race towards Mexico. Napoleon doubtless feared 
that impediments would arise on the part of Spain, but these 
would be but slight, when I. aussat would have been put in 
possession of Louisiana by the Spanish commissioners, Don 
Manuel de Salzedo and the Marquis of Casacalvo. The 
choice of these commissiojiers was injudicious: Salzedo was 
an infirm octogenarian; Casacalvo had but little ability. His 
estates, his family, his dearest habits were in Cuba, and he 
longed to return to his house-hold gods. 

Napoleon had despatched to Washington, with the treaty 
which had to undergo the formality of ratification by the 
Senate^ a distinguished young officer by the name of Landais. 
This officer had been instructed not to lake the usual con- 
veyai;ces from Washington to New Orleans. Landais tra- 
versed on horse back and at full speed the Indian territory, 
and arrived in New Orleans on the 23d November. He de- 
livered immediately to Laussat the despatch of the French 
government, urging him to take immediate possession of 
Louisiana. I witnessed the vexation as well as the surprise 
of Laussat. He said that he had been sent to Louisiana only 
to awaken the attention of the Western people and to arouse 
their passions, 

Laussat repaired immediately to Salzedo's quarters, where 
he met also with Casacalvo. The old man wished to delay 
action until they had received further orders ; but Casacalvo 



— 28 -^ ■ 

having declared his opinion that Louisiana should be imme- 
diately delivered over to the French authority, orders were 
given to that effect. Laussat had not a single soldier. The 
French, under the command of Mr. Charpin, a retired officer, 
formed a militia company ; the Anglo-Saxons formed under 
Daniel Clarke. Gabriel Viller^ and B. Marigny were the 
aids-de-camp of Laussat ; — and on the 30th November 1803, 
the Spanish flag was succeeded by the French. 

At Washington-City, so soon as the bearer of despatches 
who brought the treaty of cession had arrived, the Marquis 
Casa y Rouco, the Spanish minister, laid his protest before the 
United States Senate ; it was based upon the violation of the 
secret treaty, by which France could cede Louisiana to no 
other power but Spain. When France delivered Louisiana in- 
to the hands of the American government, universal astonish- 
ment was expressed. It could not be conceived how a nation 
who, at diflferent periods, had so much desired and envied 
Louisiana, could have bartered for 80 millions of francs, a ter- 
ritory almost as extensive as the continent of Europe, and 
valuable by the fertility of its soil and the production of 
timbers for naval constructions. Napoleon alone was aware 
that Spain had ceded those vast territories to France, with 
the sole object of establishing a barrier between the United 
States and Mexico. He knew also that France however de- 
sirous of possessing Louisiana, could not have preserved it 
for more than a few years — that she would be burthened with 
all the expenditures of this colony, whilst its commerce would 
inure to the benefit of Ihe Americans. However, the first Con- 
sul desirous of securing to himself some merit in the eyes of 
the United States, ostensibly pretended to set aside french in- 
terests, in order to afford the American Union the means of 
becoming one of the greatest nations on the globe, and the 
only one that might, from the genius of its people, success- 
fully compete with proud Albion for the supremacy of the seas. 
On the other hand, the friends of the 1st Consul maintained 
that the English might have taken Louisiana by way of the 
lakes, by expeditions from Canada, or by ascending the Mis- 
sissippi. These were not the true motives that operated upon 
the French cabinet in regard to the cession made to the Uni- 



- ^ -^ 

ted Stales. For it may be easily demonstrated that it was 
scarcely possible for England to have conquered Louisiana as 
alleged. In the first place, to conquer this colony by passing 
over the lakes from Canada, would have required an army of 
at least ten thousand men, to be transported over a distance 
of nearly five hundred leagues, with all its materials of war 
and subsistance. Then, on reaching the Mississippi, the con- 
struction of a great number of boats became necessary. Who 
can believe that the American people, so proud of their rights, 
and their nationality, would have suffered a British army to 
violate their territories in its march against a friendly nalionj 
who had aided them in the achievement of their indepen- 
dence ? This is an absurdity which could not have been ap- 
prehended by the strong mind of Napoleon. The other sup- 
position, although more plausible, is scarcely more rational, to 
Avit : that Louisiana might have been taken by ascending the 
Mississippi. When the Mississippi is at high water, the 
opening of the dikes would suffice to arrest a whole army in 
its march to New Orleans. At that period, steam vessels had 
not yet been invented, to contend against the current of greaJ. 
rivers ; an army, between the gulf and the point now called 
the English Turn, would have been soon decimated by disease, 
intermittent fevers, and especially by yellow fever. During 
the season of low water, the space comprised between the 
English Turn and the sea," is intersected by bayous and 
swamps. Admitting that France would have had but three 
thousand men in Louisiana; this force, united with the in- 
habitants of the country, who were natives for the greater part, 
active and adroit in the use of fire arms, would have sufficed 
to check a British army of 10,000 men. Thousands of Indians 
also could have been obtained as auxiliaries, who, in the 
swamps of Lower Louisiana, would have been useful sharp- 
shooters. 

At a later period, it has been shewn that European armies 
were not successful in America. It seems that providence 
has determined to protect since eighty years, the regions that 
had been so long oppresed by Europe. In the last war be- 
tween Spain and England, from 1803 to 1808, Lord Beresford 



— 30 — 

ascended the la Plata with 8000 men, and took Montevideo, 
An officer of the Spanish navy, by the name of de Liniere, 
placed himself at the head of the Creoles of the country, and 
gave battle to the British army. Defeated by de Liniere, 
this army abandoned the Plata and the province of Buenos- 
Ayres. Subsequently Lord Abercromby with 5000 men, hav- 
ing taken possession of a portion of the island of Porto-Rico, 
some Spanish officers at the head of the militia, ventured to 
attack him; his force being routed, Abercromby was forced 
to reembark. And finally on the 8th of January 1815, we have 
beheld 12,000 veterans from old England, before the Jackson 
lines, repulsed by 4000 men, among whom scarcely more than 
500 regular soldiers could be counted. 

The reader may now understand the true motives of the 
cession ol Louisiana by France. He may now above all, just- 
ly appreciate the wisdom of our government, its sagacity and 
moderation. From 1784 to 1803, our government, both in 
Congress and in the cabinet, avoided the agitation of the boun- 
dary questions towards the Mississippi ; they awaited until 
the tide of population had reached its shores, and until the mo- 
ment had arrived, (for him who bides his time, all turns out 
well). John Adams, Washington's successor in office, in- 
sisted upon the settlement of the boundaries, and they were 
at last established. The people of the western country were al- 
ready numerous and powerful; they carried on nearly the whole 
import and export trade of Louisiana, and the navigation of 
the Mississippi could no longer be denied them. 

Spain having become convinced that the country was no 
longer to her but an object of considerable expenditures, ce- 
ded the vast territories of Louisiana to France who had long 
desired them. Scarcely had the latter power recovered them, 
when she perceived in turn that they would be of no value, if 
not onerous to her, and she transferred them to the United 
States. Presumptuous spirits of all classes ! Avho in your hot 
haste and indiscreet ardor, would take e\ery thing by storm, 
often even at the sacrifice of right and good faith I render your 
tribute of homage to the wisdom of those ancient law-givers, 
of those immortal citizens, who without bloodshed, without 



— 31 — 

interrupting the regular progress ol' our agriculture and com- 
merce, had in the course of twenty years, enlarged by more 
than double their original extent, the terrttories of our beloved 
country ! 

The eight years of Thomas Jefferson's happy administration 
expired in 1808. James Madison then assumed the Presi- 
dential chair ; his a<iministration was arduous, he had many 
embarrassments to meet, many difficulties to overcome. But 
his 'Wisdom, his ability proved equal to every emergency. 

At that period, England was mistress of the seas ; no power 
could raise against her a. fleet of 30 ships. She could be met 
only in single combats of ship against ship, or frigate against 
frigate. 

Napoleon, in tlie Prussian campaign of 1806 and 1807, hav- 
ing won the battle of lena, entered Berlin, and proclaimed 
feis continental system (which was to conquer the seas by land). 
The English, by way of retaliation, proclaimed their "orders 
in Councilj" called .the paper blockade. Neutrality was not 
respected ; all vessels were liable to be searched ; the flag did 
not cover the merchandize, and our seamen wer-e impressed, or 
otherwise vexed. Madison addressed his remonstrances to the 
cabinet of St. James,but they were unavailing. With the view 
of bringing England into measures of moderation and justice 
the government of Washington in 1808, laid an embargo upon 
tlie ports of the United States. Our commerce was paralysed ; 
the products of our agriculture were without means of expor- 
tation ; our bread stuffs, our salt meats, tobacco and cotton 
remained in the ware-houses without value, and were Anally 
sold to pay storage ; our ilo.ur ferraentedj and was thrown into 
the water. 

This state of things had lasted for three years, when the 
Americans having exhausted their patience and modera- 
tion, declared Avar against England. Tlie English exerted 
against the United States all the forces they could dispose of 
Our means of defence at that period were quite limited: we 
had but Jive frigates, and some gun-boats upon our lakes and 
riA'crs. This war however was not inglorious to the American 
arms.- Wherever our frigates encountered a British frigate. 



— ^2 ^ 

victory was ours. A single oile, the Chesapeake, succombed 
after a dreadful combat. Being mortally wounded. Commodore 
Lawrence was heard to utter the noble sentiment: "My friends 
don't give up the ship." On lake Erie, the British fleet was 
destroyed by Commodore Perry, At last, the campaign of An- 
drew Jackson in Louisiana, which was closed by the battle 
of the 8th of January 1815, drove for ever the British Leopard 
from this land of liberty. Peace between the United States and 
Great Britain had been concluded at Ghent, on the 24th t)e- 
cember 1814. England relinquished her odious pretentions 
upon our ships, and we Avere placed in our commercial rela- 
tions with her upon the footing of the most favored nations. 

In 1816, James Monroe was elected to the Presidency of 
the United States ; he had been one of the signers of the treaty 
of cession of Louisiana, on the 30th April 1803. By his vvis- 
dom and persuasive arguments, Monroe convinced the cabinet 
of Madrid that Florida was but a useless burthen to Spain. 
This power, embarrassed in its finances, had to bear the ex- 
penditure of maintaining forts and garisons in a country which 
contribvited nothing to its revenues, and was destined by the 
force of circumstances, at some future day, to be lost to Spain; 
whilst it was of value to the United States, on account of its 
harbours on the Mexican Gulf. Spain who at the time, yet 
entertained hopes of preserving or reconquering Mexico, was 
induced to sell Florida to the United States, upon the condi- 
tion that the river Sabine would form our boundary towards 
her Mexican possessions. We therefore came into possession 
of those excellent harbours : Key- West, Tampa-Bay, Pensa- 
cola and St. Joseph's bay, all of which were necessary to our 
merchant vessels as well as to our ships of war. The United 
States have since caused to be established naval depots and 
navy yards in some of those ports. 

The detractors of Monroe maintained that he had committed 
an error in the Florida treaty, by accepting the Sabine as our 
boundary, when by inquiring into the past, we might have 
claimed the Rio Grande as the limit of Ancient Louisiana. 
But James Monroe, judged rightly, that it was urgent above 
all to obtain the ports of Florida and to secure to us beyond 



— 33 — 

dispule the bay of Mobile, for the advantage of the State of 
Alabama. Besides, his experience had given him a deep fore- 
sight into the tendencies of the Anglo-Saxon race. He had 
beheld it climbing over the Alleghanies, traversing the OhiOy 
the Cumberland, and subsequently the Mississippi, 1h« Mis- 
souri, ths Arkansas, the Red River, all of them large and 
powerful streams;^ho\v could he not forsee that this active and 
enterpi-izing race, would soon leap ov€r the small stream of 
the Sabine, to tarry but 'a moment on the banks of the Rio 
Grande? Results have shown that this ancient citizen, ripened- 
as he was by experienceand public service, had formed a better 
judgment of things, than the turbulent spirits who blamed him^ 
for having consented to the Florida treaty. The services of 
James Monroe will forever be highly appreciated in America. 

I shall pass over the administration of John Quincy Adams, 
which succeeded that of Monroe, and lasted but four years, du- 
ring which nothing of remarkable interest occured.- After John 
QjLiincy Adams, Andrew Jackson was called to the Presiden- 
tial chair. His disposition was generally feared ; ho w^as 
Uiought too ardent and irascible ; — but his well known pa- 
triotism and the nature of our institutions offered sufficient 
guarantees. Under his successful administration, the public 
debt was extinguished, and indeed a surplus of funds which 
remained in the treasury, was divided between the States. It 
is the first instance in modern times of a great nation being 
found free from all debt. The government of the United States 
had claims of long standing against France, against Spain 
and Portugal. These were all adjusted upon eqiiitable prin- 
ciples. It was in relation 1o the claims against France, our an- 
cient ally, and in order to avoid obstacles and sensitiveness on^ 
her part, that Andrew Jackson declared in a Message, "That it 
would be as preposterous to suppose that he had intended to 
insult France, as it would be ridiculous 1o imagine that she 
would allov,'- herself to be insulted.'' Louis Philip, a WMse and 
enlightened king, contributed greatly to arrangements calcu- 
lated to preserve the friendly relations of tlie two nations. I 
have seen but few men, who entertained a greater admiration 
of our institutions, and a higher opinion of the American jjcople. 



— 34 — 

htan ihc King of the French-. In liis youth, he had travelled 
over the United States ; he had seen and studied every thing 
there. Loujs Philip was really a man under the garb of royal- 
yt; he was a republican King. 

The administration of General Jackson was however marked 
yb an event, which illustrates the prejudice that may ensue to 
the policy of our government from the absence of moderation ; 
but this circumstance, not to say this error, must be attributed 
in him, to the painful reminiscences of Ms fatigues and suffer- 
ings during the arduous war against the Crpeks and Semi- 
noles. James Monroe had acquired Florida for the price of 
five millions of dollars. It was necessary, in order to invite 
mAerican settlements there, that the Creeks and Seminoles 
should emigrate to the Indian territory. I amenclined to think ^ 
that if the Indian chiefs had been conducted to that fine region, 
to examine it for themselves, and become convinced that its 
soil was richer than that of Florida, and its wild game more 
abundant — that if some sacrifice of money had been made to 
buy up their cattle, which could not be carried with them — 
that if, in short, an. amount of a million of dollars had been 
given them as an indemnity for their removal, and to aid them 
in forming their new. establishments — the Indians might have 
been removed from Florida without difllculty. But modera- 
tion did not prevail, and war ensued. This war was carried 
on for a few years, at the cost of about 30 millions of dollars — 
a sum almost as large as that for which Ave acquired. Loui- 
siana, Florida, and subsequently New Mexico and Galilornia. 

This is a striking example ; it- shows that a government 
should be ahvays disposed to make great sacrifices to avoid 
war. It is to the condition of peace, enjoyed with but few in- 
terruptions by the United States, since 1784, that avc are in- 
debted for our prosperity, and the prodigious increase of our 
population. 

It is not necessary to dwell upon the administrations whicli 
immediately followed that of Andrew .lackson ; for nothing of 
note occurred, until the advent of James K. Polk into power. 
However, under the administration of John Tyler, who he- 



— 35 — 

came President al the. death of General Harrison, the prelimi- 
naries of the annexation of Texas took place. 

Our attention is now called to the administration of James 
K. Polk, and to the great events which have rendered it memo- 
rable. The territory of Texas was annexed to the American 
Union, notwithstanding the opposition of France and England. 
This annexation was national. Since tlie battle of -St. Jacinto, 
during nearly seven years, active hostilities had ceased. Texas 
had been recognized as an independent State, by the United 
States, by France, England, and the rest of Europe. This 
fraction of the American people, who had separated from the 
great family, spoke the same language, and had preserved the 
same usages and laws ; it was natural that it should return to 
the bosom of the mother-country, 

Zacharie Taylor received orders from the government of Wa- 
shington to encamp wdth his command upon the Rio Grande, 
the ancient boundary of Louisiana. The Mexicans then provok- 
ed by their acts the commencement of hostilities. They crossed 
the Rio Grande, and massacred some of our ofHeers. Hence 
the war, and our triumps ! Taylor won the celebrated battle 
of Buena- Vista, and Scott planted the star spangled banner 
upon the walls of Mexico, the ancient capital of the Monte- 
zuma s. 

This war and its results were calculated to elevate the cha- 
racter of our people in their own estimation, 'as well as in that of 
the world. Our magnanimity was equal to our courage. Ins- 
tead of following the examples of Europe in such cases; ins- 
tead of keeping forcible possession of any portion of the con- 
quered territory, and requiring re-embursement for the sums 
which the war, provoked by the Mexican Republic, had cost 
us, we gave fifteen millions of dollars for New-Mexico and 
California. The former, a useless possession and even a bur- 
then to Mexico, who, like Spain formerly, was obliged to main- 
tain there an army to prevent the devastations of the barbarous 
Comanches upon the cultivated lands of Mexico ; whilst Ca- 
lifornia had been but an improlitable territory, scarcely con- 
taining fifteen hundred inhabitants, most of whom were under 
he infiuence of the most idle habits. What greater example 



— m ~ 

can be presented of generosity and moderation? — What more 
convincing proof, that in the territorial aggrandizements of the 
United States, there is nothing repugnant to morality, or to the 
Jaws of nations? 

The administration of Millard Fillmore was signalized by 
an event much to be regretted : I allude to the invasion of 
Cuba by a number of adventurers from the United States. 
:Surely, no one more than myself, deplored the unfortunate end 
which my misguided fellow-citizens there met with. I re- 
member to have told several of them that they were rushing to 
certain destruction ; that they would not find in the population 
of Cuba the necessary elements to achieve the independence 
of that colony. The government of the United States were 
xDpposed to the expedition against Cuba. — They did not suc- 
ceed however in preventing its departure. But what was its 
fate? inquire into the history of the times, and that history 
will tell you that it met the fate under which succombed the 
army of Toledo in 1811, and subsequently those of Colonel 
Mina, of Iturbide, of Mejia, and others. 

Let us throw a veil of mourning upon this sad episode of 
•Cuba, whose catastrophe was the death of our brave and un- 
fortunate country-men ^ . . .. 

The inauguration of a new President is invariably the oeba,- 
sion of nunaereus conjectures as to his measures, and especially 
in regard to his foreign policy ; the idea was accordingly en- 
tertained by many, that Franklin Pierce would tolerate the 
expeditions of adventurers. The condu^ct of this Magistrate in 
assuming the executive power, has shewn that he was firmly 
opposed to such movements ; for in his first message, he de- 
clared that he would exert all the power vested in him by the 
laws to suppress all armed expeditions against a friendly 
power. The policy of Franklin Pierce is not opposed to the 
annexation of Cuba to the United States, — far from it ; but he 
as aware that the cabinet of Washington, without impairing 
its reputation of probity, can reach this result, by adhering to 
the principles adopted by Washington and by John Adams, to 
obtain the left bank of the Mississippi, from the 31st degree of 
latitude to its head waters: principles which have been sue- 



o/ 



cessively observed by Jefl'crson, Monroe, and Polk, in relation 
to the acquisition of Louisiana, the Florida?, New-Mexico 
and California. Those great statesmen, enlightened as they 
themselves were, felt that they should obey the precepts of 
George Washington, the father of his country, who had esta- 
blished our foreign policy upon the basis of justice, morality 
anJ probity. Whoever departs from those precepts, will be 
looked upon by the American people as an Atheist in politics. 

I am proud and happy to share the opinions of Franklin 
Pierce, and of the illustrious men who preceded him. 

I have sufficiently dwelt upon the foreign policy of the Uni- 
ted States in relation to their territorial aggrandizements ; 
upon the treaties between France and Spain, and upon the 
causes which have gradually led to independence the British 
colonies and the Spanish colonies in America, w^ith the ex- 
ception of the islands of Cuba and Porto-Rico. I desired in 
the first place to vindicate our government, and in the next, 
to show to other nations, that in (he history of past ages, there 
is nothing nobler and wiser than the principles of adminis- 
tration which have guided the cabinet of Washington. Pro- 
vidence has thus far protected the American people. Its ter- 
ritory, honorably enlarged, is susceptible of containing more 
than a hundred million of inhabitants. Its possessions upom 
the Pacific Ocean will permit the establishment of the most 
advantageous commercial relations with the nations of Asia, 
and its progress in commerce, agriculture and manufactures, 
assumes gigantic proportions. During our wars, the militia 
shewed themselves equal to veteran soldiers, and great Generals 
sprang lap; our merchant ships are innumerable, and our 
military navy is respected and admired. Honor then to our 
government ! honor to our Presidents ! honor again and again 
to the memories of the immortal Washington, of Jefferson, Mon- 
roe, Jackson, Polk, and of many other great men, Avho have 
thrown lustre upon our beloved and noble country. 



S^ECOND PART. 



The disturbances of which the^ Island of Cuba has been the 
theatre, and the desire manifested hy. the American people to 
acquire this colony, having given rise to apprehensions of dif- 
ficulties between Spain and the United Slates, it may not be 
out of place to entes inio some views oi' the Spanish peninsula, 
as well as of its resources and the character of i^s peopls. 

In Spain, the population amounts to sixteen millions. In 
1808, it did not exceed eleven millions. Notwithstanding 
the wars with the French from 1S08 to 1814; notwithstand- 
ing the excesses of Ferdinand the 7th, who caused many 
Spaniards to perish or to emigrate,, and finally, in spite of 
civil war, the population of Spain haa inspeassd by five mil» 
lions of souls in the space of thirty five years. Tranquillity 
has been restor€d in Spain, only since the retreat of Don Car- 
los from the peninsula together with his adherents, in conse- 
quence of the capitulation of General Maroto in 1839. This 
nation, enjoys a representative government; there is a Senate 
and a House of Representatives, to w-hom the -ministry are 
accountable. The press is fr^e, with tlie exception of a few 
restrictions, and public education, is in a course of progress. 
Tlifi lands of the clergy have been sold and are now under 
cultivation ; the extensive plains of Castille,. formerly reserved 
for the pasturage of sheep, have been, divided, and are now 
cultivated. New districts have been established ; catholic 
Switzers and Irishmen have been settled there, and railroads 
are in progress of construction. The lands of Spain are fer- 
tile — its mountains contain mines of iron, quicksilver, gold 



~ 4(3 — 

and silver. The Carthagenians as well as the Romans had 
worked ihose mines. The Spaniards have ceased to work 
tJiem only since the discovery of America. 

The coasts of Spain comprise an extent of seven hundred 
leagues ; along them are to be found the following harbors, ca- 
pable of receiving either ships of war, frigates or large steam- 
ships: Algesiras, Malaga, Carthagena, Alicante, Valencia, 
BarceJona, Rosa,^ Moquere, Cadiz, Corona, Vigo, Ferrol, 
St. Ander, St. Sebastian and Bilbao. Her regular army amounts 
to 90,000 men. She possesses about 30 ships of war of va- 
rious sizes, of which 30 are under steam power^ and a consi- 
derable number of merchant vessels. The number of her sea- 
men of the 1st, 2d and 3d classes, amounts to about 40,000, 
including those engaged in the coasting trade of Europe and 
the fisheries. The population of her islands is in the follow- 
ing proportions :— Cuba, 1,300,000 ; Porto Rico, 600,000 ; the 
Baleares in the Mediterranean, 400,000 ; the Canaries 500,000; 
the Philippines, 600,000 at least ; forming a total of 19,400,000 
souls. 

The patriotism of the Spaniards is as great as their courage. 
When the Ramans subdued them, they caused their right 
hands to be cut off, in order to secure their fidelity. The 
Moors remained for nearly eight centuries in possession ol a 
part of Spain ; they had invaded it through the treason of the 
countess of St. Julien in Andalusia. , The Avar against the 
Moors was unceasing until it ended ; and the race of the Pe- 
lasgian Kings was compelled to retire into the mountains oi 
Asturia. Conquered at last by the Spaniards, the Moors sub- 
mitted to the sway of Ferdinand and Isabella, as their sove- 
reign princes. The Avar undertaken by Napoleon against 
Spain lasted six years ; to maintain it, the Spanish people rose 
in mass. Four hundred thousand Frenchmen perished in this 
national Avar; and the armies of Napoleon Avere compelled to 
abandon the peninsula. 

In stating these facts, my object has been to make known 
the character of the Spanish nation, as Ave.ll as its power. 
But this is no reason for avoiding Avar Avith Spain, if any pro- 
'socation or injustice on her part should require us. to take 



— 41 — 

up arms against her. With the Americans, with a free peo- 
ple, the maintenance of the national honor withoui a stain, is 
pararriount to every other consideration. . . 

Let us pass now to the statistics of the Island ot Cuba. 
This colony extends in length 220 leagues; its breadth in the 
narrowest part is 7 leagues, and in the widest 39 ; making an 
average of 23 leagues in breadth, and a superficial area of 5,066 
leagues; or 35,703,360 arpents. Cuba possesses 41 harbours, 
rnany of therh capable of admitting ships of Avar, frigates or 
steamships. It is traversed by mountain ranges which con- 
tain copper mines ; its climate is uniform, and frosts do not 
vikit it. The sugar cane there may yield for twelve year.9 
■Ivithout being replanted. Coffee grows extremely well in 
the mountain region, as well as cotton, which may be picked at 
least during eight months in the year, and not during four 
months only as in Louisiana'. The tobacco of this island is 
of superior quality, and may even be called the best in the 
world, especially for cigars. According to the best data, only 
one tenth of the land iii this colony is under cultivation. 

The Island of Cuba is situated at the entrance of the Gulf 
of Mexico, iiear the point of Florida. The Florida channer 
can scarcely be passed, without giving a view of Havana, a 
strongly fortified city, whose population amounts to nearly 
200,000 souls.'' .In this island, are found immense forests of 
mahogany and of iron wood, the best of all timbers for the 
construction of vessels of war. The population of the Island 
of Cuba is thus divided, to wit : 100,000 European Spaniards, 
engaged in commerce and fisheries; 400,000 Creoles; 200,000' 
free persons of color, and 600,000 slaves. Among the 100,000 
European Spaniards are included 22,000 men in the regular 
troops, and about 4,000 on the vessels of Avar, Avhich number 
about 24. The free people of color are faithful to the govern- 
miferit on account of the little prejudice entertained by the 
Spaniards against casts. The nobility, the Avealthy gen- 
try, who oAvn the real estate, and Astho cultivate the sugar and 
coffee plantations, support the government, through the fear of 
losing their estates, either by an invasion, by a revolution, 
of b)' the liberation of the blacks, which the go\'ernm6ivl 

6 



— 4a — 

threatens constantly to proclaim. The people in the towns 
and the peasantry, generally devoid of all education and ef- 
feminate, do but little work, and pass a great portion of their 
time at balls or religious ceremonies. This part of the popu- 
lajtiori are kept in awe by the army, the police and the clergy. 
TPhe young men of the middle classes, those of them especially 
who have been educated in the United States or in Europe, 
are in favor of independence. The Cuban nobility are nu- 
merous and wealthy. Their fortunes cannot be lost under 
the present system, for their revenues only are subject to sei- 
zure, and the entailed, estates in that privileged class are pro- 
tected by the laws. It is therefore evident that the elements 
of a revolution capable of snatching it from. Spaiu^ are^ not to 
be found in Cuba. :..,. 

Admitting that it be necessary or indispensable to annex 
this colony, to the United Stales, only two modes of attaining 
this end present themselves : "either to wage war upon Spain, 
or to purchase Cuba from her." The Americans doubtless 
might take possession of the island by force of arms ; but the 
Spanish government remaining with nothing to be defended or 
protected in America, would cause to be equipped a great 
number of privateers. Spain is situated in the Southern ex- 
tremity of Europe. The American vessels navigating in that 
region, being almost invariably compelled to reconnoitre the 
coast of the Peninsula, either to enter the Mediterranean or 
to pass into the Northern seas, would be exposed to be cap- 
tured. Our commerce and agriculture would suffer, a,nd we 
would be compelled to maintain very considerable arma- 
ments. For it is not only against Spain that we might have 
to contend, but probably also against France and England. 
Even if it lasted but five years, such a war would cost our 
exchequer more than a thousand millions. To this sum,, 
should be added the losses of our citizens, for according tathe 
spirit of our institutions, the people are not in the government,, 
but the government is rather in the people who are sole so- 
vereigns. The idea of acquiring the island of Cuba by force 
of arms should therefore be abandoned — it would cost too 
dear; and we should choose rather, the process adopted by 

.;'if)'/<"'T-. 



_ 43 — 

the preceding administrations that have enlarged our territory 
—"We must buy it." 

Let us inquire now into the value of Cuba to the United 
States. As a maritime position, Cuba is invaluable. It has 
a front of 220 leagues to the Ocean towards the North, and the 
same to the South. Commerce and agriculture are making 
stupendous strides in the valley of the Mississippi and its de- 
pendencies. 'Erelong, St. Louis will be united to the Pacific 
by a rail road, and our revenues will be considerably in* 
creased. We must therefore be masters of the gulf; but we 
cannot be so, without possessing Cuba. From Norfolk to 
Key West, we have no harbours capable of admitting ships 
of war. Those coming from the Atlantic States, have to paas 
before Havana, which is the key of the gulf 

A nation so wealthy as the Americans, whose future' des*^ 
tinies are beyond the previsions of the most glowing fancy, 
should indeed make great sacrifices to come into possession 
of Cuba. Spain could not yield it for a trifle ; and to attain 
this happy result, arguments must be use dsufficiently strong to' 
convince the cabinet of Madrid, that without any unfair means 
on our part, without connivance in the expeditions of adven- 
turers, this island must cease, at some future day, to form 
a part of tlie Spanish dominions ; the attention of the Spanish 
ministry should especially be brought to bear upon the predic- 
tion of Aranda, one of the greatest statesmen of Spain, who'^ 
on the eve of signing the treaty of Paris of 1784, wrote to 
Charles the 3d : "I do not wish to be a prophet, but I much 
fear that before fifty years will have elapsed, there will remain ' 
to your Majesty, out of all your vast possessions in America', 
only the Islands of Cuba and Porto-Rico." Forty years later," 
as I have saiJ, the prediction was accomplished. '^\ 

We should not lose sight of the fact that our populatiori^.. 
which, seventy-six years ago, scarcely amounted to three mil- 
lions, now numbers twenty-four millions of souls, and that in 
ten years, it will • probably have reached thirty -five millions. . 
For emigration alone gives an increase of 500,000 souls each 
year. 



_ 44 — 

Now, if we calculate fully the large revenues which might 
accrue to the American government from the Custom Houses 
of Cuba; if we take into consideration the value of her lim- 
ber for for naval constructions, her copper mines, as well as 
her superficial extent, which is capable of sustaining a popu- 
lation of sixteen millions of souls (admitting that one fourth 
of that population will inhabit the towns) — we may afibrd be- 
yond question, to allow for this colony a liberal price, payable 
say in fifty years, and bearing only 3 0[0 interest per annum. 
'Dhegold of Australia and California are destined to cause 
the rate of interest to fall. Besides, the holders of Spanish 
bonds bearing 5 0[0 interest, are subjected to a loss varying 
from 30 to 40 per cent, when they wish to realize^ because the 
interest is not punctually paid, and they have occasion to fear 
the loss of a portion of the capital. Lenders are naturally 
inclined to be uneasy, rand these would willingly exchange 
the Spanish bonds for American securities bearing 3 0[0 
interest. Now, admitting that the revenues derived from the 
Island of Cuba should yield annually but four millions <of 
dollars to the United States, we would fall short but *a Sew 
^millions of dollars each year. But the revenues from Cuba, 
regularly increasing, as they do in the United Stales, this 
deficit would soon be filled up. I have seen the time when 
the State of Louisiana had but 50,000 dollars of revenue; now, 
it has nearly $1,300,000. IN^ew Orleans, forty years ago, had 
ibut $30,000 revenue; it has ixp\y more than a million. We 
are a people of giants, we must go onward. The millions 
we might, have to pay to Spain for the j^sland of Cuba will be, 
much lighter to the Uriited States in fifty year^, t^an fifty mil- 
lions would be, if payable now. Our resources, our credit^ 
our commerce, pur institutions are perpet.ua], and ^he corrx- 
proraise laws have dissipated foreypr,.!the .f^a^s of .disun;ion. 
Besides, among an enlightened people, their real interests 
will always prevail. The Northern States are engaged in 
mahufactiiires ; ihey possess a great aniount'6rca!pita1,ianid 
they own, besides, three fourths 'bf our ' merchant ships ; the 
Southern States are agricultural: the North and the South are' 
itfeereiore boiind together "BSr' indissoluble"' ties '*of'in'terest 



— 4-5 — 

These interesls. Avhich require the mainleimnce of the Union 
Avill surely increase, so .soon as a rail-road will have facilitated 
communications with the Pacific Ocean. Asia will soon open 
its gates to us ; China is undergoing a revolution ; and in the 
present age, revolutiojis are made in the name of liberty, com- 
merce, and substantial interests. 

One of the principal reasons which s.hotild induce us to of- 
fer to Spain a valuable consideration for the Island of Cuba, 
is to show to the \yorld that the cabinet of Washington is by 
no means disposed to connive in the expeditions of adven- 
turers against that colony. We should jjreserve to our govern- 
ment its chai;acter for morality, and banish from our policy 
all machiavelian princijjles. Probity in governnients is as 
laudable, as it is in individuals ; it is a balm which sustains 
the heart, and vivifies the soul. , . , 

"It must te supposed that the late,' events that,' have occurred 
in Cuba, have aroused the nationality, and the indomitable 
pride that characteri^jc the Spaniards. The moment there- 
fore is not perhaps opportune, to enter into negotiationsi /il- 
lative to the acquisition of the island. Time must be allowed, 
for Spanish resentments to be allayed, and the cabinet pf Ma- 
drid will be brought to understand that a considerable amount 
to be paid in money, and bearing 3 0|0 interest per annum, 
would be far preferable, under all the circumstances, to the 
possession of the Island of Cuba, which now yields to Spain 
scarcely two millions of dollars per ajcmun;i. after paying the 
expenses of administration. 

A favorable circumstance is about to present itself, which 
the cabinet of IVJLadrid Avill doubtless appreciate. England 
ever ready to take advantage of the passions, the weak- 
ness, or the emba.rmssments of other governments ; in order to 
subserve her own selfish and machiavelian policy, /vyi^hes 
to annul the Island of Cuba, by africanizing it, l^y means of 
the importation of blacks from Africa, called apprentices^ The 
men of that color eutertain a natural aversion towards, the 

f.r.t. ■! .1 1-' "^f ■' > '■ ''"li '''!'' '' .' '.I . 'i^' '!■ 

whites, who for asres back have reduced them to a condition 
of slaverv. Should a revolution break out in that colony, we 
woulc^ probably witness the rise, pf sucti men a?, Tou?,^a^ii,tf-; 



— 46 — 

Louverture, Dessalines, or, atalater period, of a Soulouque ; — 
the whites would be massacred as they were in the French 
portion of St. Domingo. Can Spain lend herself to such 
schemes? I say no, emphatically no I The commerce of the 
Peninsula is involved for millions with Cuba, and Spaniards 
are in possession of vast estates there. The lives, as well as 
the property of both Creoles and Spaniards, would be placed 
in jeopardy, by the nefarious machinations of Great Britain. 

Having to decide between the selfish views of England, 
which would cause the Island of Cuba to be lost forever to 
civilization, and the policy of the United States, which at the 
same time that it affords protection to the inhabitants of that 
colony, tenders a large consideration for its acquisition, the 
cabinet of Madrid, for the sake of its own interests as well as 
those of its Spanish subjects, is bound to arrive at rational 
conclusions. It must doubtless reflect that the time is about to 
come when old Europe must renounce the possession of Ame- 
rican territories. From the confines of Canada, to the straits 
of Magellan, the nations have become independent of European 
control, and they enjoy representative governments, with the 
exception however of the Guianas, which are too weak to 
maintain their independence. 

The immense region of Canada yet forms a part of the 
British dominions. In 1764, when France ceded that territory 
to England, its population consisted of about 60,000 souls; and 
there remained in the Peninsula of Acadia, but a*few thousand 
inhabitants; for a great number, in violation of human and 
divine laws, had been ignominiously driven away by the Bri- 
tish government, because they refused the oath of allegiance to 
the British crown, which would have required of them imme- 
diately after the oath to take up arms against their countrymen 
the Canadians. 

The Acadians, like the Canadians, are of Norman origin, 
with the exception of those from Brilanny. It is easy to dis- 
tinguish the two original types, among those of the Acadian 
and Canadian races who are to be found in Louisiana. The 
Normans in general are above the middle stature ; they have 
blue eyes, with light and flat hair; the Britains are of lower 



_ 47 — 

stature, with dark hair, small eyes, and very black eye balls. 
The Landry's for instance, whose clan is no numerous, the 
Heberts the Moutons, the Theriots, the Thibodeaux, and 
many others in Louisiana ihat might be cited, are of I^orman 
descent. Any one who has travelled over Normandy must be 
satisfied of this fact. Whilst the Broussards, on the other hand, 
who overrun the prairies of Attakapas, like the grass hoppers 
that occupy the deserts of Africa,, claim their descent from 
Britany. Their eyes, their hair, their shape, indicate it suffi- 
ciently. From those two races, no true Briti.-ih colonial sub- 
jects can issue. Out of the 1,400,000 souls that form the popu- 
lation of Canada, at least one million may be counted as 
descending from the Norman or Britain races. 

The British government has understood the character of 
these descendants of the proud Normans and the Britains ; it 
has conceived the necessity of granting them rights and fran- 
chises — such as the liberty of the press, the trial by jury, the 
habeas corpus, and a parliament. Besides, their property is 
exempted from taxation in favor of the British government. If 
Great Britain, deviating from her usual colonial policy, ha.s 
made all these concessions in Canada, it must be assuredly 
from fear of the spirit of the Canadians and Acadians. The 
time is not far distant, when this noble people,. renowned for 
the valor which it displayed in the wars from 17.54 to 1759, as 
well as in the war of 1812 against the Americans^ will pro- 
claim its independence and organize as a nation. At the time 
of the insurrection which broke out in Canada in 1835^ to be 
suppressed in 1837, martial law was decreed, and lord Harem 
launched forth the regular troops against the revolutionists. 
Thirteen respectable citizens were condemned to be hung, 
and many others to exile. Among the latter was Papineau. 
Those condemned to death, asked to be. shot; but lord Harem 
rejected their application. The chevalier de Loriniere, a scion 
of an ancient family, established in Canada for more than two 
centuries, was among the victims. In 1839, I happened to 
meet, at the house of our Minister General Cass, in Paris, se- 
veral well informed Canadians, who had been banished from 
Canada, on account of their political opinions. In answer to 



— 48 — 

some- remark.'* whicli I made to ihem as to the movement of 
1835 in Canada, these exiles told me that they desired neither 
to remain subject to England, nor to form a part of the Ame- 
rican colifcderacy ; that they had the sentiment of their strehght^ 
and thai their population being constantly on- the increase, 
they hoped that iheir immense territory would be occupied at 
some future day by a great nation, in whose bosom emigra- 
tion Irom old Europe would seek i^ refuge. 

Being myself of Norman descent, and ray ancestor, before 
coming to Louisiana with d'Hibervillc, in 1699, having served 
in' the army of Canada, I confess that I was happy, and proud 
to hear such language from these scions of ancient Normandy, 
of those conquerors of England, who produced renowned 
Knights for the Crusades, illustrious Generals for the ancient 
rtionarchy, as well as for the Republic and the empire, and 
who, conquered Canada and the Louisianas, 
^^^'Theiftdependence of Canada will occasion the loss to En- 
gland of all the territories possessed by that power in North 
America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. They are 
almost equal in siiperficial extent to one third of the United' 
States. I must menlion here a fact which illustrates the cha-' 
racter of the Norman race. From 1793 to 1795, whilst the 
Committee of Public Safety were eirecltrtg guillotines in the 
whole of France, except in Normandy, Fouquier Tainville, the 
public prosecutor, communicated to Robespierre his intention 
of erecting the scaffold at St. Germain, a city situated at a 
distance of five leagues from Paris, on the line where Norman- ' 
dy commences — "beware of so doing?" exclaimed Robespierre,'^ 
"the Normans must not be touched." 

Can it be believed now, that these men, proud of their ori- 
gin, glorying in the valor of their ancestors, are destined to 
remain subjects of England? No— assuredly not! When Ca- 
nada Will have become independent, and it must be so'ere long, 
what will remain to old Europe on the American continent ? 
the Guianas, (for the empire of Brasil is independent of Por- 
tugal); in the West Indies, St. Domingo and Jamaica are 
lost to the white raC6 ; in the French Isles, the emancipation 
and equality of the blacks have been for some time proclaim.- 



_ 49 — 

cd, as well as in the adjacent Islands, through the influence ol 
British policy. In all these islands, the white race is no longer 
.secure, and is compelled gradually to abandon them. 

Cuba and Porto-Rico alone therefore, still ofler a foothold 
to the white race. Is it probable that the cabinet of Madrid^ 
by examining the past, and reflecting upon a future so easily 
foreseen, will not at last acknowledge that it is the true inte- 
rest of Spain to transfer Cuba for an equivalent sum of money? 
Menaced as that island is, not only by the example of Jamaica 
in the South, of St. Domingo in the East, and in the North by 
the adventurers, who in despite of the laws and governemnt of 
Washington, are likely to be tempted again to invade it, but 
endangered also as she is by England, the Vv^orst enemy of 
Spain in the Cuban question; since she desires by africanisino- 
Cuba, to withhold it from all civilized nations, and to expose 
its inhabitants to be slaughtered by the negroes. Yes, un- 
doubtedly, the cabinet of Madrid will understand how delicate 
is the present position of Spain in regard to the Island ot 
Cuba. But we must temporize ; Ave must deal gently with 
castillan pride and nationality; above all, this important ques- 
tion should be argued with the best informed, and most in- 
fluential men of Spain. In short let us follow the wise course 
adopted by BenjamJn Franklin in Paris, at the time of the war' 
of Independence, and it is probable that Spain, guided by her 
true interest AviU finally determine to sell Cuba to the United ' 
States, 




THIRD PART. 



ON THE CHARGES MADE BY THE GREAT POWERS OF EUROPE 

AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON, IN REGARD 

TO ITS TERRITORIAL AGGRANDIZEMENTS. 

In order to shew the little foundation for the accusation 
brought by the great European powers against the government 
of Washington, whom they charge with immoderate ambition, 
it becomes necessary not only to make a comparative state- 
ment of the aggrandizements of Russia, of England, and of 
France, with those of the United States, by taking the year 
1764 as the point of departure, — but also to expose the means 
adopted both by the accusers and the accused, toattain the ex- 
tension of their respective territories. 

Russia, according to Pierre Charles Leveque, a member of 
the French Institute, who wrote the history of that vast empire 
and of its government, contained, in 1764, nineteen millions o 
inhabitants. 

Before dwelling more at length upon this subject, it is pro- 
per to sketch the character of the house of Romanof, beginning 
with Peter the 1st, called the Great. It would seem thatnature 
exhausted herself, when she produced this great man ; for, 
from the time of his death until the advent of Nicholas the 1st, 
we are amazed at the moral weakness, or the vices of that fa- 
mily. Alexis, son of Peter the 1st, was acknowledged as un- 
worthy the throne by his own father, as well as by the grandies 
of the empire. He was a man abandonned to debauchery. 
Peter the Isl, having greatly promoted ^civilization, commerce 
and the arts of navigation and of war, among the Russians, 



— 52 — 

and fearing that his son would cause the nation to retrograde, 
caused him to be put to death: a great example of patriotism 
rather than of cruelty ! Peter the 1st died in 1725. Catherine, 
who Avas originally but an uneducated peasant girl, and whom 
he bad married on account of her beauty and good sense, was 
proclaimed Empress, Duriijg her reign which lasted two 
years, her wisdom and benevolence obtained universal appro- 
bation, Catherine was not of the house of Romanof, 

In 1727, Peter the 2d, of the Romanof family, wap called to 
the throne. This sovereign at first fell under the influence of 
Menchikoff, and subsequently under that of the Dolgorouki 
The commencement of his reign was marked by cruelties 
committed under the orders of MenchikofF. The disordered 
passions of Peter the 2d, his debaucheries and his love of alco- 
holic liquors, brought him to his death in 1730. 

Anqe^ of the house of Rornanofj ascended the throne in 1730. 
During hpr reign, she was entirely guided by Birenne, a 
man of great crueUy and avarice, who committed great crimes 
in the name of this Empress. He caused to be put to death 
on the scaffold a number of respectable men in the nation, and 
banished many others tq Siberia. Anne terminated her caree.r 
in 1740. Ivan the 6th, of the Romanofs, succeded her. He 
^as at first governed by the duke of Courland, and afterwards 
gave himself up to revelry. Ivan was dethroned in 1741, after 
a reign of a year. 

Elizabeth, of the house of Romanof, was next acknowledged 
as Empress. Although her amorous propensities brought her 
into disrepute in the eyes of her subjects, as well as in those of 
Europe, her reign was not altogether devoid of glory. None 
of |ier lovers (from the grandee to the Calmouk) was enabled 
to govern her. Addicted at first to dissipation and amorous 
intrigues, she fell into bigotry at a later period. Having be- 
come gloomy and superstitious, Elizabeth yielded to the grave 
in 1762. 

Peter the 3d, of the Romanofs, was next proclaimed Em- 
peror. His reign lasted about a year only. This prince, who 
was dissipated and incapable, after having been thrown into 
prison, was subaeqaently assassinated at the instigation of 



— 53 — 

Alexis OrlofT. In order lo keep secret the circumstances of 
bis death, the report was spread that he had succombed to an 
apoplectic fit. Peter the 3d met with much difficulty in ob- 
taining a wife of Royal blood, and was reduced to marry the 
daughter of a petty Russian Prince of the town of Slettem, 
who was governor of that place under the authority of the king 
of Prussia, Frederic the 2d. Sophia Augusta was born on the 
2d May, 1729. She was proclaimed Empress in 1762, and 
assumedthe name of Catherine the 2d, which she was destined 
to render illustrious. It is therefore apparent that Catherine 
.was not of the house of Romanof. This Princess, endowed 
with a solid and brilliant education, had deeply studied the 
different European governments ; she was well versed in 
French literature, as well as in the history of the great kino-s 
and queens who had reigned during several centuries past, to 
Avit: Elizabeth of England, Philip the 2d of Spain, Louis the 
14th, Cromwell, under the title of Protector, Maria Theresa 
of Austria, and Frederic the 2d of Prussia, under the name of 
the Great Frederic. Catherine was rather handsome than 
pretty, she was of a graceful figure, and above the middle sta- 
ture. She rode on horseback admirably well, and often re- 
viewed in person her guards and her army. This Princess was 
well fitted to develop the immense resources of the great em- 
pire founded by Peter the 1st. surnamed the Great, and she had 
studied the maxims of that great monarch. She established 
military schools, and reorganized the naval school created by 
Elizabeth. She also founded colleges and universities, and 
fostered manufactures and general industry, by Avise laAvs. 
She also made advantageous treaties with all the civilized na- 
tions of Europe, and despatched envoys to China and Persia. 
This woman, taking her part with unparallelled activity in 
public affairs, never relied upon her ministers; for she wished 
to convince Europe that she alone governed Russia. Ca- 
therine however was fond of pomp and pleasures, and chas- 
tity was not her distinguishing virtue ; her first lover Avas 
Gregoire Orloff; but in order that he should deserve her favors, 
she required that he should render himself useful to Russia by 
important service?. Orloff became distinguished particularly 



— 54 — 

in the armies, and was promoted to the grade of commandei' 
in chief of the artillery. 

Catherine invited into the service of Russia distinguished 
military men from otiier nations, and adopted liberal measures 
for the protection of strangers who might be induced to 
established themselves within her dominions. Accordingly, 
manufacturers and artisans of every description were attracted 
hither under the pledge of her protection; a great philosopher, a 
learned man and a distinguished writer, remarkable also for 
his moral character, (Laharpe) was entrusted by her with the 
education of her grand sons, and particularly with that of 
Alexander, who was destined to be the heir to her empire. 

Immediately after ascending the throne, Catherine conceived 
great projects against Turkey. The only harbours that Rus- 
sia then possessed were on the Baltic, whose navigation Avas 
interrupted or trammelled by the ice during six months in the 
year at least. In order to secure for the products of her domi- 
nions^ great outlet to the Archipelago of Greece, to Egypt and 
to Asia, the possession of harbors on the Black sea and the sea 
of Azof was necessarylo Russia. In order therefore to attract 
the attention of the Russians towards those favoured regions, 
Catherine bestowed the name of Constaniine upon the second 
child of her son Paul. Europe was amazed at the genius dis- 
played by this woman in the affairs of her government ; and 
all statesmen were watching with interest the developments of 
her policy. 

The reader will please to indulge me, in a digression which 
I have occasion here to make. 

Among the officers in the service of Russia, there was one 
at the time by the name of Potemkin. Bold and gay, this offi- 
cer passed for one of the handsomest men in the army. Not 
actuated by vanity, but influenced by a passion which love 
alone can nourish, Potemkin was so much captivated by the 
charms of Catherine, that he lost his senses. When he could 
not see his Sovereign, he stood in ecstacies before her portrait. 
He kissed the ground that her feet had trodden, and passed 
his nights in the open air, in order to contemplate by the light 
of the lamps the appartment occupied by the object of his 



&5 



adoration. But .Catherine, enamoured of the jealous (xregoire 
Orlof, pitied the new pretender, without giving him any hopes 
of a reciprocal sentiment. 

War had just broken out ; the Cosacks, the Cahnoucks, the 
Tartars, who had often beaten the Russians before the reign 
of Peter the Great, had crossed the frontiers of Russia, and re- 
newed their depredations. Those savage hords, numbering 
more than ten millions of souls, occupied a region extending 
to the base of the Caucasian mountains. The Russian army was 
put in motion to repel them. Potemkin, then a Colonel of Caval- 
ry, left St. Petersburg, in the hopes of meeting with a glorious 
death, to put an end to his misery. The commander of the 
Russian army entrusted Potemkin with the command of a 
brigade of cavalry, at the head of which he charged the barba- 
rians. Brave and expert in the management of the lance, he 
cried out the name of Catherine as he fought, and was invin- 
cible. The opposing hosts ^vere swept away before this head- 
long knight, whom lead and steel could not reach. The reports 
of the General in chief to the cabinet of St. Petersburg men- 
tioned the successes of Potemkin, and the exploits which he 
atchieved under the influence of his passion for his Sovereign. 

After some years of warfare, all those barbarian tribes having 
submitted, recognized Catherine as their Sovereign, and paid 
a tribute to Russia. The vast regions occupied by these Bar- 
barians were covered with immense herds, of large broad tailed 
sheep. Their horned cattle were also innumerable, and were 
destined to supply the Russian leather, which is in such hio-h 
repute, and which has become a great article of commerce. 

Potemkin, on his return to St. Petersburg, became an object 
of admiration for the Russian women, v/ho are generally hand- 
some, amorous, and sometimes fickle. As the reward of his 
atchievements, Potemkin was presented to Catherine. The 
emotion of the Knight cannot be described ! scarcely was he 
ushered into the presence of his Sovereign, when he became 
timid and disconcerted ; in lieu of a respectful inclination, he 
fell at her feet, and wept profusely. The great Catherine was 
moved; her heart had yielded,, and the long tried fidelity, the 
true love of Potemkin triumphed at last. But the Knight lost 



— 66^ — 

nothing of liis reslliess spirit, and of his ardor for war. After 
having extended her conquests as far as the Caucasus ; after 
having inured her army to the hardships of war, Catherine 
determined to wage the war against the Turks. She was in 
need of territories towards the South of Europe. It was for 
the second tim-e, that the children of Mahomet, the proud Mus- 
suhnen, the devotees of the crescent, were about to encounter 
in battle the hosts of Russia. For at the period of their splen- 
dor, when they claimed to rule Europe, and to subdue Chris- 
tianity, the Mussulmen little thought of Russia, a rough and 
icy region, whose temperature was so different from that of 
the mild latitudes they inhabited. 

Five hundred thousand Turks were brought under arms to 
meet the armies of Russia. The Mussulmen were proud of their 
former greatness, and of their atchievements in war. They 
remembered that, for eight centuries, they had been masters of 
two thirds of Spain-; that from victory to victory, they had 
fed their hosts to within thirty leagues of Paris, in the time of 
Charles Martel, and that Solimanthe Magnificent had planted 
itie standards of the crescent before the walls of Vienna. Dis- 
ciplinehad'made no progress up to this time in the Turkish 
army, and was especially deficient in the field artillery; whilst 
the Russian troops whom they had to meei, had waged war 
with success under the reign of the empress Elizabeth, against 
the Prussian armies. 

Catherine determined to shew to her subjects, that with her^ 
devotion to country and love of glory were above the common 
foibles of' her' sex. She sacrified her most tender affections, 
and addressed the following patriotic letter to Potemkin, ac- 
companied by a sword bedecked Avith diamonds : " I entrust 
you with the command of the noblest and the most numerous 
army that Russia ever set on foot ; go, and serve your coun- 
try—Go, acquire glory, and be worthy of my affection. When 
my mind will not be engaged in the cares of ray empire, my 
thoughts and my tears, -Potemkin,' will all be for you I" 

It was therefore at the head of 300,000 soldiers that the 
Knight invaded the Turkish territories. This war was a gi- 
gantic struggle. Suwaroflf, one of Potemkin's principal lieu- 



— 57 — 

tenants, distinguished himself equally by his valor and indefa- 
tigable activity. Together with great military renown, he ac- 
quired the affections of the Russian soldiery almost to idolatry. 
This truly extraordinary man shared in all respects the life of 
the soldier ; he slept upon the straw, eat of horse flesh, and 
preferred the most common drinks to the most luscious. Suwa- 
roff, nevertheless, had received a good education. Louis the 
18th, King of France, who had known him, says that Suwaroff 
had good manners, and was endowed with wit and an agree- 
able conversation. 

It was the lot of thi"s austere chieftain to terminate \he war 
by an unparalleled exploit. Ismael, the most strongly fortified 
position in Turkey, was considered as impregnable. During 
the war, the Turks had still more strengthened its fortifica- 
tions. Surrounded by ditches unusually d^ep and broad, this 
stronghold was defended besides by a formidable artillery. 
The Turks expected here a regular siege, such as had been 
previously laid before several fortresses that had surrendered. 
But time was precious, and things had to be brought hastily 
to a close. Provisions had become more and more' scanty in 
the Russian army, and could scarcely be procured at all ; for 
the fields had been devastated, the towns and villages burnt. 
If was a war of extermination between the contending ar- 
mies, one of which was composed of sanguinary barbarians^ 
and the other, the Russian army, of men who had barely 
emerged from barbarism, since the death of Peter the Great, 
(1727). 

The fierce Suwarofi" made preparations to take Ismael by 
storm ; but before commencing the attack, he gave notice to 
the Turkish commander, that if he was compelled to this ex--- 
tremity, he would cause the whole garison of Ismael to be 
put to the sword. Bat the Turk made light of these threats ; 
he calculated upon a regular siege, which even if successful, 
was bound to last, as he thought, at least sixty days. Suwa- 
roff then resolved to take Ismael within "three days. He made 
an attack upon the- fortress ; but his army was horribly man- 
gled by the artillery of the enemy. On the second day, hi;^ 
losses were again fearful ; more than 20,000 men had beer*" 

8 



^ 58 — 

shot down. The, fire, of his veterans could not reach the 
Turks. During the night preceding the third day, forty thou- 
sand men were employed in gathering up the dead and 
the wounded to fill up a portion of the ditches of Ismael. 
What, a horrid spectacle the third day presented I more than 
fifteen thousand corpses piled up at the feet of Ismael, and the 
B,usgian army, with bayonets pointed and Suwaroff at its 
Jiead, using them as a bridge of human flesh, to cross the 
ditches that protected the fortress ! Ismael fell into the hands 
of Suwaroff, and 35,000 men, officers and soldiers, were put 
to the sword. The remainder of the Turkish army, from 
this moment, were stricken with terror, and peace between 
Russia and Turkey was concluded on the 9th January 1792. 
This war lasted from llSl to the end of 1791. 

Assured that the capture of Ismael would put an end to the 
war, Potemkin confided his command to prince Reppin. He 
was impatient to return to Catherine; but in the long journey 
from Ismael to Moscow, the chieftain succombed under a 
violent fever, at about a hundred, leagues from that metro- 
polis. 

Russia, by the treaty of Diassy, on the 9lh January, 1792, 
acquired Otchakof, and the whole country between the Bog 
and the Dniester. She obtained possession also of the mouth 
of a great river on the Black Sea, and an easy access to the Ot- 
toman territories (see history of Russia by Charles Leveque). 

Catherine's ambition should have been satiated; but it did 
not suffice her to have extended her domination to the foot of 
the Caucasus, and to have considerably aggrandized her ter- 
ritories towards Turkey. At that period, the Cosacks of Si- 
beria had crossed Bearing's straits, and had taken possession, 
in the name of Russia, of all that portion of North America, 
extending from the British boundaries to the North Pole 
(about one fifth of the United Stales in superficial extent). In 
these 'icy regions, the climate is about the same as in Siberia. 
Before fifty years, the Cosacks will occupy a great portion 
of those remote territories. They will procure there, as in Si- 
beria, great quantities of furs of the beaver, otter, sable, &c.,. 
which are held in such estimation by the people of Asia and 



— 59 — 

Europe. This region must be favorable to grain crops, to 
wlieat especially ; and it is probable that, being separated 
from Siberia by a narrow channel, gold mines will at a future 
day be found in it, as in Siberia, quite as abundant as those 
of California and Australia, and more easily worked ; for in 
Siberia, gold is gathered almost at the surface of the earth. 

Catherine, Avhose ambition was unbounded, and suppported 
by great genius, had long meditated the enlargement of her 
dominions towards the West. To this end, she took advan- 
tage of the dissensions in the Polish nation, after having had 
a previous understanding with Frederic the 2c1, of Pru:~sia, 
and with Austria. The first partition oi' Poland consequently 
took place in 1772. 

In 1792, France was involved in her great revolution. The 
unfortunate Louis the 16th was confined in the prison 6t the 
Temple, with his wife and children. The French princes, 
and the nobility urgently solicited the courts of Europe to 
take up arms against France, and to save Louis the 16th. 
These soUicitations were unheeded by Catherine, who under- 
stood full well that she could not add anything to her posses- 
sions from Germany, who had engaged in the war against 
France, and still less from Italy, owing to the great distance 
between that country and Russia. Besides, Catherine was 
ntot satisfied with the first division of Poland ; she desired a 
larger share of it, than that which she had obtained. This 
princesss, who had conceived the annihilation of the Polish na- 
tion, at last carried into execution her awful and daring pro- 
ject. The whole territory of Poland was therefore subdivided 
between Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1795. But Cathe- 
rine, on this occasion, took the lion's share of the spoils, for 
two thirds of that kingdom lell into the hands of Russia. 

The great Catherine was preparing for a war against Per- 
sia; but the death of Potemkin^ the object of her dearest affec- 
tions, distracted her mind. In the delirium of her grief, she 
cried out that she wished to die, in order again to behold Po- 
temkin. Stricken by apoplexy, she closed her career, on the 
9th November 1776, at the age of sixty-seven, and after a reigii 
of thirty- three year.-s. " *' '-.'"■'' 



— 60 — 

Her son succeeded her to the throne, under the name of 
€*aul the 1st, and ruled during four years. The versatility 
of his (disposition, the weakness of his mind, caused his death 
.by assassination. On his death, his son, Alexander the 1st, 
was called to the empire. The mildness of temper of this 
prince, the success of his arms when Russia was invaded by 
France in 1813 and '14, contributed to distinguish his reign. 

Jndepeadently of the vast accessipns pf territory made by 
^Catherine, Russia has continued to enlarge her dominions : 
she has taken possession of the whole of Livonia, of Finland, 
and Jfias extended her sway along the Black Sea, and the Sea 
pf Azof, encroaching also upon Persia. Now, this insatiable 
power is warring again upon Turkey, for quite another cause 
.assuredly than that which her diplomacy has proclaimed to 
the world. Her armies already occupy the Danubian pro- 
.vinces and threaten Constantinople. Finally, Russia, in 1764, 
contained but 19,000,000 of inhabitants, and now numbers 
more than 75,000,000 »! 

In view of this historical statement of the aggrandizements 
of Russia, and of the means to attain them, employed by her 
successive rulers; who would not feel indigna^^t to hear Ni- 
cholas, the autocrat, taxing the United States with ambition, 
and casting repjoach upon them for their territorial aggran- 
j^lzements? The population of the Russian ernpire^ which is 
susceptible of containing jnore than 300 millions of inhabi- 
tants, is increasing from day to day, and imagination is at ^ 
loss in calculating its great destinies, and the influence which 
it may come to exercise upon Western Europe. But if the 
writer turns his thoughts to the past, his attention is called 
;to the general rising of the Spaniards in 1808. They were 
the first to throw a cloud upon the star of Napoleon, the ruler 
of all Europe. It may be therefore, that the Turks, better pre- 
pared for the struggle than the Spaniards were, will repel 
the Muscovite ; that their noble resistance will arouse the 
Poles and the Hungarians, and that these long oppressed na- 
tions will achieve their independence, and save Europe from 
the cruel fate which Russia may inflict upon it before a half 
century has elapsed. 



FOURTH PART. 



. We must now speak of England, who, when the question 
of the annexation of Texas lo the United States arose, main- 
tained that the ideas of aggrandizement entertained by the 
cabinet of Washington, were unjust and dangerous. 

In 1764, by the treaty of Fontainbleau, France had ceded to 
England Canada and all that she possessed in North America, 
with the exception of the territories on the right bank of the 
Mississippi. The portion of Louisiana, extending from the 
Perdido, four leagues from Pensacola, and following the Gulf, 
the lakes Poutchartrain and Maurepas, and the bayou Man- 
,chac to the Mississippi, was included in this cession. Spain, 
on her side, gave up Florida, which extended to the limits of 
iGeorgia. 

After the war of Americai3 Independence, England lost all 
rthat she possessed south of Canada and to the left of the Mis- 
sissippi, But there remains to that power, in North America, 
the XZ!,anadas, and an immense territory extending west of 
them to the Pacific, where it is bounded. North, by the Russian 
possessions. She has preserved the Peninsula of Acadia, the 
Isle Royal, the Bermudas and New-Providence in the chan- 
nel of the Bahamas, as well as Jamaica, wdiich she possessed 
previously to 1764, and some islands among the Caraibs. In 
the beginning of the 18th century, during the reign of Philip 
the 5lh, of Spain, she took from the Spanish crown Gibraltar, 
the key of the Mediterranean, which she at first pretended to 
hold in trust, but which she has permanently kept. Australia, 
of which she at first possessed but a part, now belongs to her 
in whole. This island is as large as two thirds of Europe. 



— 62 — 

She has also taken by force ol" arms a large portion of Asia, 
(Hindostan) where 150 millions of inhabitants bend the knee 
to her despotism. She possesses the Islands of Ceylon, and 
St. Helena, as well as different positions for her counting- 
houses in Africa, and the isles in the Channel. 

By the peace of Paris, in 1814, Holland gave up to her the 
Cape of Good Hope; and France ceded the Isle of France. By 
the same treaty, she acquired the Ionian Islands, including 
Corfu. Her possession of Malta, as well as of Trinity in the 
Caraib Islands, was confirmed by the treaty of Amiens in 
1802. In 1814, France also ceded to her St. Lucia and Do- 
minica, England possesses nearly all the maritime' positions' 
that are not within the continental limits of Europe, of South 
America, or of the United States of America ; she has her ar- 
senals every where. By calling into service her transatlantic 
steamers, and arming them for war, iier naval armament could 
number more ships, than those of all the other powers of the 
world combined. England has extended her dominions al- 
most invariably with the sword in one hand, and often with 
the torch in the olher, The colonial system of England is un- 
just and sometimes cruel. 

Does it come with good grace from this power, I ask, to 
find fault with the territorial aggrandizements of the United 
States ? 



FIFTH PART. 



FRANCE. 



This power, in 1809^ had annexed lo her territory upper 
Italy, as far as the Julian Alps, Ancient Venice,. Rome and 
her de"pendeRcie3, Belgium, Savoy and Piedmont; l>er in- 
fluence extended over Switzerland, and tlie confederation of 
the Rhine. Holland, conquered' by the French- arms, had 
surrendered, her liberties, and been converted into- a kingdom 
for thebenefit of Loais Buonaparte. Naples was given to Mu- 
rat, after his mariage with the princess Caroline, one of Na- 
poleon's sisters. Bavaria was enlarged by territory taken from 
Austria, after the battle of Austerlitz, in 1805. The Elector 
Maximilian, having become a king, gave his daughter in ma- 
riage to Eugene Beauharnuis. . Atthe same period, the territory 
of Wirtemberg Avas also increased at the expense of Austria, 
and its Elector being m.ade a king, subs€?quently married his 
daughter to Jerome Buonaparte. 

Portugal, after being subdued, Avas governed bv the D.'uke 
d'Abrantes, one of Napoleon's lieutenants. These immerous 
aggrandizements were still further extended by new con- 
quests, after the battles of Austerlilz in 1805, of Jena, of 
Friedland, ofEylau, which occasioned the treaty of Tilsiti in 
1807, and after tha't of Wagram in 1809. The influence of 
Austria and of Pru.ssia, the two. great powers of Germany, 
was so much reduced by the curtailment of their territories, 
that Napoleon, after having, at their expense, transformed Wir- 
temberg, Bavaria and Saxony into kingdom.",, increased the 



__ 64 — 

territory of Baden, and created the kingdom of Westphalia 
in favor of his brother Jerome, became the complroller ol 
Germany. 

But Napoleon should hav^e considered that, although it is 
sometimes quite easy to defeat armies and to dictate treaties, 
it is always difficult to amalgamate different nations, and to 
destroy nationalities.. He should have remembered that the 
Netherlands, having revolted against the dominion of Philip 
the 2d, of Spain, bad routed the veteran troops of Spain, and 
reconquered their independence. During the reign of Philip 
the 4th, the Portuguese had also thrown off the yoke. From 
these examples, he might have foreseen that the Germans 
would lake advantage of the first opportunity to rise against 
the rulers who had been forced upon them, and against the 
despotism of the man who had destroyed their nationalityi 
The crown of Spain was about being bestowed upon Joseph 
Buonaparte, when the Spaniards revolted. This example was 
successively followed by all the nations of Europe ; and it 
was under the banner of the independence of nations, that 
the allied sovereigns recruited innumerable armies. England, 
who had been on the ppint of succombing, was found every 
where in the contest, and afforded subsidies to all. It was a 
war of extermination — Paris against London ; — Rome against, 
Carthage. But in this contest, Carthage triumphed. Han- 
nibal defeated in the battle of Zama, was compelled to flee his 
country, and was assassinated in a foreign land. 

By the treaty of 1814, Napoleon, who had swayed the con- 
tinent of Europe, and caused England to tremble, was confined- 
in the Island of Elba. In 181&, St. Helena became the prison 
of his exile. After five years of moral tortures inflicted upon 
him by hiw jailor, sir Hudson Lowe, his physical constitution 
being at last exhausted, this great man, and great chieftain, 
descended to the grave. The death of Napoleon at an age 
when life is usually in its prime, was the occasion of much 
comment. It was generally thought that he had succombed 
to poison.- — Erroneous impression ! Providence, who had 
shielded him in a hundred battles, did not protect his veterans 
gb«»^inst the burning sun of Spain, nor the snows of Russia. 



— 65 — 

— His destiny was to yield as it were to the combined ele- 
ments, and not to the steel of his enemies. His exile to St.- 
Helena was necessary to himself, to his cofemporaries, and to 
posterity. He there wrote the story of his wonderful cam- 
paigns ; he there spoke of his greatness, as well as of his er- 
rors, and made known his opinions as to the high destinies of.' 
the United States, and the dangers with which the west of Eu- 
rope was threatened at the hands of Russia. "In fifty years," 
said he, "Europe will be Republican or Cosack." Fifty, 
years have scarcely elapsed, arid Europe is in arms ! Europe 
is on fire ! 

After having uttered this great prophecy; after having written • 
out his campaigns and the glorious events of his reign, should'^ 
Napoleon have lived any loigerupon the rock of St. Helena ? 
No! death had become the fitting close of his wonderful ca- 
reer, the only relief to his sufferings. God then issued the 

decree : "Let him die I . . . he has been a mighty Emperor, 

the son of a king, Joinville will come, on a future day, with 
Bertrand, Gourgaud, Las Cases and Marchand, the compa- 
nions of his exile, to take possession of his body, and carry it 
back to the banks of the Seine — Let him diel. . . he will have 
for a winding sheet the tricolored banner, which he caused to 
wave from the steeples of Lisbon to the towers of the Kremlin 
Let him diel. . . he has been a king of kings.. . and beneath 
the dome of the Invalides, he shall be received by king Louis 
Philippe. — Let him die! — whilst the Princes of the clmrch, the 
Bishops and Archbishops,'will invoke the heavens in his behalf; 
whilst they will prepare the holy water to be oast upon his 
inanimate corpse, — the old soldiers of the Invcjlide?!, stooping 
upon their crutches, — the Marshals and Generals of the Empire, 
leaning upon their swords, will sprinkle with their tears his 
mortal remains." 

Reader, answer : — Should he have lived any longer, on St.- 
Helena's rock, in the hands of the executioner ? 



SIXTH PAR*. 

Thk United States 



I have gone into some details as to the territorial expan- 
sions of England, France and Russia ; let us now return to 
the territorial aggrandizements of the United States. 

Convinced that she could not advantageously apply the co- 
lonial system to Louisiana, France offered it to the govern- 
ment of Washington for SO millions of francs, and it was -pur- 
chased. At a later period, Spain perceiving that the Floridas 
were a useless burthen to her, also bargained them off 
with the United States for five millions of dollars, and the 
amount was paid. Texas, whose independence had been re- 
cognized by England and France, and subsequently by other 
nations, desired to become a member of the American Union. 
She needed ten millions of dollars to meet the debts she had 
contracted during the war with Mexico: the government of 
Washington gave her the amount. After the annexation 
of Texas to the United States, the Mexicans were the aggres- 
sors : they crossed the Rio-Grande and murdered several 
American officers. llence, as I have said, the war and our suc- 
cesses. Instead of keeping forcible possession of any portion 
of the conquered territories ; instead of exacting from Mexico 
the costs of the war, the cabinet of Washington intimated the 
desire of acquiring New Mexico, a region which had never 
been of any utility to the Mexican Republic, and whose in- 
habitants were constantly exposed to the depredations of the 
Comanches, together with California, which scarcely num- 
bered more than fifteen hundred inhabitants. The Mexican 



— m — 

government acquiesced in the proposition, for the considera- 
tion of fifteen millions of dollars which were paid to it. 

If the history of nations be consulted, can there be found 
one, which has enlarged its domain by means more honor- 
able or more just, than thos« which have been hitherto prac- 
.tised by tl»e American people ? 



^^-^^^^^^ (SW^^^ 



SEVEXTII PART 



OF THE MORAS. INFLUENCE OP THE UNITED STATES Cl'OX 
THE WORLD. 

^he power of the United States government all over the 
world, lies in its moral influence, which cannot be diminished, 
lor it is based upon our institutions, and does not depend 
upon the caprices of men. The writers who have commented 
upon the wisdom of these institutions, have shewn to the 
world, that with the American people, nothing is above man 
but God and the law. 

France became agitated. The study, and the knowledge 
of American institutions gave rise, in that nation, to "the 
Meeting of the Notables, the States General, the National 
Assembly, the rights of man, the liberty of the press, equality 
•under the la^vs, abolition of feudal privileges, &c." The revo- 
lution produced by the struggle between the privileged classes 
and the Third Estates, was awful, and civil war brought forth 
many crimes ; but France nevertheless is freeer, and more 
prosperous at this day than she was in 1789. Her commerce, 
her manufactures and agriculture, have made immense pro- 
gress — public education has spread its blessings — and her po- 
pulation, which amounted to 25,000,000 only, before the revo- 
lution, has increased to 37,000,000. 

The principles of liberty have often been attacked there, 
but they prevailed however during the reigns of Louis the 
18th and Louis Philip. They are now suppressed by an iron 
hand; but this can be but momentary. Men may change 
or die; — the roots of the tree of liberty cannot be destroyed. 

Now, let us examine the course of all nations that have 
been strong enough to shake off the yoke of despoiism and to 



— 70 — 

attain independence, and let us see whether they have resorted 
to absolutism, or to representative governments. Belgium, 
Holland, Piedmont, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, have 
adopted Constitutions, and the principles of two represen- 
tative bodies, and of the Jury in criminal affairs. The liber- 
ty of the press is subjected in its extent to special laws. Where 
have these principles been resorted to ? Is it in Russia or in 
Austria? — No. 

South America has shaken oil' the thraldom of Spain. 
From the Rio-Grande to the straits of Magellan, republican 
o-overnments have been established, modelled upon th^t of the 
United States— with the exception however of Brazil, which 
is governed under a monarchical constitution, similar to that of 
Portugal or of Spain. 

A few years only have elapsed, since the star spangled 
banner has been planted upon the shores of the Pacific. The 
Chinese who have resorted to those regions, have translated 
into their language the doctrines of our institutions, and com- 
municated them to the inhabitants of the celestial empire — 
and China is already involved in a revolution ! If liberal prin- 
ciples should triumph there, before, thirty years, all Asia will 
have proclaimed them. 

In presenting these views of the moral influence exercised 
upon the world by our institutions and the government of 
Washington, my object has been to expose the error and ab- 
surdity of the principles of armed intervention set up by cer- 
tain agitators in the Congress of 1851 and '52. These de- 
claimers have taken good care to keep from the eyes of the 
people the account of expenditures that would be occasioned 
by the carrying out of such principles, and the consequences 
that might result to the American people. 



C~,r~S 



EIGHTH PART. 



The American people, consisting of 24,000,0000 of souls, 
could not take part in a war upon Ihe European continent, 
with less than a force of 50,000 men, of whom six thousand 
of cavalry. What immense equipments would be required ? 
What quantities of provisions, bread stufi's and forage I iVt 
least 300 sliips Avould be required in the transportation of such 
an army and its equipments. And, as such a distant expedi- 
dition over the seas would have to be escorted, a correspond- 
ing increase in our national navy would be necessary. Victors 
or vanquished, our troops would have to be brought back to 
the United States, which would require new armaments. We 
would have also to contend against the navy of the power 
with which we had engaged in war. Privateers would cover 
the seas ; our commerce and agriculture would be paralized, 
our cottons, tobacco, bread stuffs and sugar, would lose their 
value. Should such a war last but five years, , it would cost 
more than a thousand millions to the government of the 
United States and its citizens. In view of such a picture, of 
the consequences of an armed intervention in European af- 
fairs, and which is by no means exaggerated, it is difficult 
to conceive that there have been in the United States agita- 
tors bold enough and mad enough, to proclaim and maintain 
such dangerous doctrines. 

Citizens of the American Union I cherish and enjoy in 
peace your prosperity and your wise institutions ; the great 
questions which gave rise to the spirit of party — the pro- 
tective tarif, the annexations of territory, the United States 
Bank, are now settled and brought to an end. The compro- 
mise of 1850, has allayed the passions of the North and of 



7'^ 

ihe South; tlie difficulties solved by this act were great and 
portentous — they might have brought on the dissolution of 
the Union. 

The Compromise of 1850, an imperishable monument of 
wisdom, was for the greater part, the work of an illustrious 
citizen — gf an aged man ; who, after having usefully devoted 
fifty years of his life to the service of his country, had retired 
from public affairs. Although 1 did not participate in all his po- 
litical opinions, I ever admired his noble virtues, his great ta- . 
lents, and his warm eloquence. This great citizen and sage, 
on hearing that Kentucky,, alarmed at the portentous questions 
of the day, had summoned him from his retirement, that his 
mighty voice might be again heard in the United States Se- 
nate, obeyed the call, and repaired to the Capitol. There, 
when the crisis arose, all were astonished to see his eyes glow- 
ing again with the fire of patriotism, as in his youthful days, 
bis physical strength revived, and his moral powers deve- 
lopped anew. It was not a question of party in which he 
straggled for success, it was one of general and vital interest. 
His patriotic eloquence attained its ends — all were moved 
and captivated by if. But these were the last notes of the 
swan. His physical powers, exhausted by his great la- 
bors, soon abandoned him, and he reclined to rise no more. 
Death respected yet for some brief days the head as well as 
the genius of the patriot statesman. It seized only upon his 
feet, wbich it congealed. It was in this conditioa of suffering 
that he received the visit of Kossuth, the hungarian revoulu- 
tionary leader. Extending to him his hand, he uttered these 
noble words : "I deplore the calamities of your country, but 
our institutions, as well as the admonitions of the immortal 
Washington, forbid us all armed interventions — all foreign 
alliances, offensive or defensive. They enjoin upon us only 
to recognize existing governments, as we find them in other 
countries. "We are indebted to these wise precept? for the 
consideration which we enjoy abroad, as well as for jhe pro- 
gress of our population, our commerce and our agriculture.'' 
These words were soon transmitted to all parts of the Union' 
by the electric telegraphs They became impressed upon iHti 



~ 73 — 

mind of almost every citizen. A few clays afterwards, Henivy 
Clay expired. 

It is near Lexington, in Kentucky, that tlie remains of this 
great man repose. Tiie eloquent men of Kentucky combined 
to write his epitaph: by common consent, they determined to 
inscribe upon his tomb . . . HENRY CLAY. 

The citizens of the United States, of whatever origin, who 
find this mausoleum before them, incline their heads with 
respect; — the Kentuckian approaches it slowly, kneels, and 
mingles Avith his tears the name of Heinry Clay. 



mmm 






10 



1 



TO MY FELLOW CITIZENS. 

I have already declared my intention to continue my his- 
tory of Louisiana under the French, Spanish and American 
governments. To bring to an end a work susceptible of such 
details, several years are required; for it is not only proper to 
tell of the atchievements and the misfortunes of the knights 
who, through many a conflict, conquered Louisiana from the 
fierce and warlike Indians, and to record the names of those, 
who, victims of their courage, were burnt alive by the cruel 
savages; — but it is becoming also to speak of the self-sacrifices, 
and of the martyrdom of those holy Missionaries, who, in the 
attempt to convert the savages to Christianity, were treated as 
imposters, and condemned to the stake. Thence, passing in 
review the different governments that have existed in Loui- 
siana, and their efl'ects, it will he necessary to speak of the 
causes that brought on the sad catastrophe of the 25th October 
1769, in which Lafreniere, Marquis, de Noyan, Millet and Ca- 
resse, were put to death by the orders of O'Reilly, — and to 
make known the infamous conduct of the last French com- 
mandant, Charles Aubry, who became the accuser of his coun- 
trymen. After having shewn that O'Reilly exceeded the 
powers conferred upon him by Charles the 3d, king of Spain, 
I shall record the hermsm of a fair creole. Madam de Lafre- 
niere, ^vho unable to save the life of her husband, obtained from 
O'Reilly that Lafreniere and his companions in misfortune 
should be shot, in lieu of the punishment of the rope to which 
they had been condemned. 

To move the heart of this cannibal, clothed in the uniform 
of Lieutenant-Gen-eral of the king, Madam de Lafreniere, 
after having stated that she was the grand daughter of the 
chevalier d'Arensbourg, one of the heroes of Sweden, and 
former aid-de-camp to Charles the 12th who for some years 
had ruled over the North of Europe, represented to him the 
horror of such a punishment, and ^the humiliation that would 
be inflicted upon her noble race — upon the old companion in 



— 76 — 

arms of king Charles the 12th, — "my grand .sire," exclaimed the 
noble woman, "will die of shame and grief! do not disgrace us 
by an infamous punishment I" — "you may retire Madam," an- 
swered O'Reilly, "J will take your prayer into consideration." 
Accordingly, the mode of execution was changed. 

Such is the slight outline of the work which I propose. 
Having nearly attained the age of seventy; having lost my 
fortune and independence, it is an arduous task which I 
undertake. 

Reader, I solicit in advance your indulgence, in view of the 
motives which renovate my strength and make me almost 
forget my years and my troubles. I venture to hope that Pro- 
vidence will aid me, and that my moral energies will not be 
wanting. 

I also hope, my beloved countrymen, that you will say, at 
some future day: "We have read the work of old Bernard Ma- 
rigny— we have recognized therein his patriotism. To noble 
hearts, the native land is ever dear!...." 



New Orleans, May lOlli, 1864. 



DOOUMEMTS. 

FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE POLITICAL 
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

BY BERNARD* MARIGNY. 

Whereas the Honorable Beniard Marigny has wriUen a 
work upon the Polilical History of the United States, from 
1784 to the present lime, showing the aggrandizement ol" the 
United States as compared with the kingdoms of England, 
Russia and France under the Republic and under the Empire, 
containing also a variety of statistics of the kingdom of Spain 
and the Island of Cuba, and the means which could be em- 
ployed to induce Spain to sell the Island of Cuba to the 
United States: 

And considering that parts of said work have been read by 

Mr. Marigny in the French language in the Hall of the House 

of Representatives, to a large number of the members of the 

Leo-islature, who think that the work translated and published 

in the English Language, would be advantageous to the >Statfi 

and the United States : Therefore, ' h 

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 

of the State of Louisiana in General Assembly convened: 

That the Governor be and he is hereby authorized to subscribe 

for one thousand copies of said work, viz : five hundred copies 

in English, and five hundred copies in French ; and that the 

sum of one dollar be paid to said Bernard Marigny for each 

and every copy of said work, on the warrant of the Auditor of 

Public Accounts, out of any monies not otherwise appropriated. 

[Signed] JNO. M. SANDIDGE, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

[Signed] W. W. FARMER, 

Lieut. Governor and President of the Senate, 

Approved March, 15th, 1864. 

' [Signed] P. O. HEBERT, 

Governor of the State ol Louisiana. 



— 78 — 

[OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.] 
I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy 
of the resolution entitled "Resolution for the purchase of the 
Political History of the United States, by Bernard Marigny," 
approved March 15th. 1854. Given under my hand and the 
seal of the State, at Baton Rouge, this 16th day of March, A. 
D. 1854. ANDREW S. HERRON, 

Secretary of State. 



Legislature of Mississippi. 

Memorial of the Legislative Council and of the House of Repre- 
sentalives of the Mississippi territorij. — 5th January 1803. 

TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
UiNITED STATES. 

Your petitioners beg leave to express their sentiments in 
relation to an event, by which the interests of Western Ame- 
rica in general, and of this territory in particular, are materially 
affected. The treaty of San Lorenzo had guaranteed the free 
navigation of the Mississippi, and a convenient place of de- 
posit thereon to American merchants, for their goods and mer- 
chandize. It politically incorporated this region with the rest 
of the United States. We beheld our commerce flourishing, 
our prosperity .rapidly increasing, and congratulated ourselves 
in being the free and happy citizens of an Independent Repu- 
blic. Relying upon the national faith for the preservation of 
these privileges, acquired as they were by express stipulations, 
we had indulged the ho.pe that this prosperity would be lasting. 
The motives which have induced the Spanish government to 
deny us this place of deposit, are a subject of conjecture — but 
it cannot be doubted that the act in itself is a violation of the 
treaty contracted with that nation. 

A recent order of the government of Louisiana has been 
promulgated, by which all communications between citizens of 
the United States, and subjects of Spain, are prohibited. This 
order, has occasioned new trammels upon our commerce, and 



— 79 — 

seems inspired by sentiinenls still more hostile to the United 
States, than the preceding one. 

Your petitioners, confiding in the energy, the wisdom and 
the justice of the general government, remain convinced that 
it will refuse no aid, which the circumstances demand. As to 
ourselves, we ofter to our country, our lives and our fortunes, 
to support such measures as Congress may deem adviseable, 
to maintain the honor, and to defend the interests of the United 
States. [Signed] W. G. TORMAN, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
JOHN ELLIS— President of the Council. 



AN ADDRESS 

To THE Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States. 

January 1803. 
We, the undersigned, inhabitants of the Avestern country 
respectfully represent, that the port of New Orleans has been 
closed against us, by a decree of the Spanish Intendant : that 
we are indebted to the United States for taxes arreared .and 
for current taxation, and that we have no means to meet 
them, but the. products of our farms — that these must rot in 
our barns^ excluded as we are from a market in the East un- 
less the government consents to receive them at a reasonable 
price, or resolves to protect us in the enjoyment of a legitimate 
commerce; — that we humbly deem prompt and decisive mea- 
sures to be. necessary — the maxim . that 'W/eo■m;^ce aivd p^i-o- 
iec/iow are reciprocal," being peculiarly applicable to our po- 
sition». Whilst declaring, our confidence in the government 
of the Union, and giving assurance of our cooperation in ail 
measures that may be adopted to vindicate the just rights of 
every portion of the. United States, we must assert that we 
have the right to demand, and we do ask, that the government 
should adopt the measures necessary to guarantee us in the 
exercise., of a legitimate trade, or that it should" relieve us at 
once of all tribute whatever. Without interfering in the 
naeasujes which may be adopted to bring about the amicable 
arrangement of a difficulty which has arisen from the gratui- 



— 80 — 

tons violation of a solemn treaty, we desire it to be explicitly 
understood by the United States— ^l hat our sUualion is critical ; 
that the delay of a single season woukl be ruinous to our section 
of coimtr//, and that, consequently, ive may be compeUed by an im- 
perious necessity, unless relief be obtained, to adopt anumg our- 
selves the measures ive may juflge necessary for the protection of 
our commerce, even should such measures be productive of unfa- 
vorable consequences to the harmony of the confederatio?i. 



Letter written from New Orleans, in 1803. 

The French Prefect has arrived. His professions towards 
the Americans are for the present quite friendly. But I pre- 
sume tliat after the establishment of the French government, 
his tone will change. He awaits the arrival of General Vic- 
tor and the French troops, before entering upon his ad- 
ministration. Every expedient will be adopted, to keep us 
quiet under delusive hopes. All the inhabitants of the place, 
with the exception of a few Creoles, ardently wish that the 
people of the West should resort to energetic measures. 

A place of deposit is still denied us : we have the finest op- 
portunity to procure indemnity for the past, and security for 
the future. If we fail to take advantage of it, I fear that it 
will never occur again. A handful of men could take this 
place ; they would meet with little or no resistance. You 
would be astonished to see the great interest which is felt 
here in the future prospects of our nation, and the enthousiasrn 
with which the speeches of our senators, who urged that the 
country should be immediately seized, are read and re- 
ported. 

I urgently ask that the militia of the West should be armed 
and equipped without delay — so that a moment should not 
be lost to put VIS in a position to secure our own safety. Our 
enemies charge us with a want of public spirit. The Span- 
iards who are established here, perceive the precipice to the 
brink of which their government has been brought by the in- 
trigues of French policy: and like men in despair, they dare 



— 81 — 

not look at tlie fatare. They are impatient of our delays ; 
they often express surprise at our moderation and pusillani- 
mity. 

I fear that our plan of negociation may produce nothing but 
delay. If it should not succeed, I shalllament the unfortunate 
consequences, to our degradecJ country. 



GIFT OF THK STATE OF LOUISIANA, TO THE FAMILY OF THE LATE 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, AS A TESTIMONIAL OF ITS GRATITUDE TO HIM 

WHO FROM A DEPENDANT COLONY, HAD RAISED IT TO THE 

POSSESSION OF A FREE STATE, &C. 

When Thomas Jefferson had ceased to live, testimonials of 
public affection reached his family from all quarters, with 
offerings presented by legislatives bodies, and committees 
formed in the principal cities. These proofs of universal gra- 
titude tOAvards a departed patriot, came to contredict from all 
quarters the charge of ingraiitude which has so often been 
brought against Republics. 

Henry Johnson, then governor of Louisiana, addressed a 
message on this subject, to the House of Representatives of the 
State. In the report of the committee thereon, are the follow- 
ing words; "Thomas Jefferson, one of the principal founders 
of those liberal institutions that are the envy of other nations, 
has died in poverty. He, who has so greatly contributed to 
the establishment of our social edifice, is entitled 1o the grati- 
tude of all the Slates of the Union; but Louisiana, is above 
all others, indebted to him: it was he, who, from a dependent 
colony, made her a free State, &c." 

In accordance with this report, the legislature on the 16th 
March, 1827, passed an act as follows : 

^'Thomas Jefferson, after a life devoted to the service of his 
country, and of the human race, has died, leaving to his chil- 
dren as their only heritage, the example of his vjrluer, and the 
gratitude of the people, whose independence he proclaimed 
to the world. The Legislature of Louisiana, a State acquired 

11 



82 — 



to the Union by his wisdom and foresight, and indebted to 
him for its political and civil liberty — in order to perpetuate 
the remembrance of its profound respect for the talents and 
virtues of this great public benefactor, has, through the Senate 
and House of Representatives of Louisiana, enacted this law, 
.in order that the sum of ten thousand dollars be paid to 
Thomas Jellerson Randolph — the revenues thereof, to be en- 
joyed by the widow, and to be transmitted through her to 
the heirs." 



p 



ERRATA. 

To the page 6, line 23, instead of 1861 read 1850. 

To the page 29, Hue 38, instead of Bereeford read Wit^ock. 



